Desert Blooming
by Rosela Kitsuna
Summary: Endless cycles don't always happen the same way. When an outsider from beyond Hyrule's borders stumbles her way through the desert and into the gerudos' lives will things change? War is on the horizon and the tides are changing. A/U: GanondorfxOC
1. Chapter 1

War is not a good experience. Heart pounding, lungs bursting, adrenaline filled, yes, but once the anticipation of the first battle dies, you're left with a hollow, sad feeling in the depths of your heart. A taint that will last you the rest of your life. You've seen people die, you've probably even caused some of those deaths on the field.

At first, you feel nauseous, then sorrow and regret fill every pore in your body until you need to expel it in some way. Then comes blame. Someone is at fault, and you don't want it to be you. It makes you infuriated, so much that you lash out at anyone nearby, or you bottle it up, harbouring dark feelings and letting it fester, growing on the taint, and bursting into something vile. Each warrior has their own way of dealing with those emotions, but Aria wasn't a warrior. She was never meant for this battlefield.

The kingdom of her people had expanded beyond their normal reach, touching borders to two other kingdoms. The royal family pushed their reach into the no-man's land; a barren desert in the middle of nowhere. They were met with resistance. A wiser person would have backed off, created a visible border, sent an ambassador, and made a peace treaty with their neighbors.

Not all royalty are wise.

At first, there was news of simple skirmishes in the desert. Soldiers came back dehydrated, bruised, and dazed. More were sent into the desert, and even less came back in worse condition, this time with missing appendages, wrapped gashes that were stained red with blood...It wasn't going to stop the King from expanding his territory. Entire patrols were lost to the tempestuous winds and sands.

Several weeks and a number of patrols later, Aria's mentor was drafted into the war, if it could be called that. With no other mentor available, her apprenticeship was null and void if she didn't follow, so she trekked with him into the desert.

They were equipped with unbalanced one-handed swords that sent an ache through Aria's wrist the moment she tried to lift it. They had very little armour to their small army of an estimated three hundred soldiers and trainees. Her own engulfed Aria's form, made for a man twice her size. The boots she wore sunk into the sand with each step she took. Her mentor stared blankly ahead as they marched, ignoring the glances and all her attempts to make conversation. The next day was the same, marching in line, making no conversation, and staring blankly ahead.

The third day of marching never came.

The group had made camp for the night, most having gone to bed early, others sat up staring into the camp fire.

"Where are we even headed? This is so stupid." One of her comrades grumbled, stoking the fire with a small stick.

"Who cares."

"I care. I shouldn't be here, I should be worshipping the three Gods, singing in the choir with Master Aram. I should be asleep in the-" The blond boy was shoved as another soldier sat down between him and Aria.

"You want some sleep, go lay on your roll. We're all stuck here. You don't see the girl complaining."

Aria looked up from the flickering flames. A heavy hand gave her shoulder a warm squeeze, and she smiled in kind. The soldier next to her was a burly sort of fellow with a dark brown beard and bright blue eyes, friendly eyes with deep crow's feet. He was one of the few soldiers who hadn't been drafted, but had willingly come if his fitted armour was anything to tell by.

"How you holding up,girly?"

"Exhausted, but I can't sleep."

"That's just yer nerves. You'll get used to em. My ole pal Rory used to always get sick the night before a battle. Don't know how he knew when an attack was coming, but hours before he'd just roll over and get good 'nd sick in the bush. He'd come to the front line with his pauldrons on backwards and his sheath upside down. Why, this one time he got real sick. I mean like sick sick. He had us up all night, thinking we were gonna get ambushed. Our swords were drawn and we'd surrounded him with our backs to him while threw up in a hole he'd dug in the dirt." A grin lit across his face.

"Me friend, Mac got so spooked that when a squirrel came running down a tree he shrieked and threw his sword into the tree the squirrel was on. Completely missed the squirrel, but his sword sure damn near stuck itself in the tree. It took three of us to help him pull it out of the tree. We'd heaved and heaved. On the last heave, we pulled so hard the guy on the end fell on top o' poor Rory who was still being sick and that hole. Good man almost drowned in his own upchuck. The worst part, there wasn't even a battle coming ahead. He was just plain ole sick off of some food he'd eaten. Poor fella never stood a chance against that lizard."

He trailed off, a solemn silence filling the air. The smiles on their faces straightened out grimly. Aria glanced back at the fire.

A howl in the silence of the night jostled everyone for a moment. Aria looked towards the desert, but there was nothing to see except sand, a few rocks, and even more sand beyond that.

"BOO!"

The blond choir boy gave a high pitched shriek and fell off the rock he was sitting on.

"Now don't be scared little man, there ain't nothing out here but us and the wolves. They ain't gonna harm us."

"No, you should be more afraid of Bjorn. Bjorn of the Log Pile"

"Now hey there… don't go telling them kids no crazy rumors."

"Oh don't worry. I won't tell them anything that didn't actually happen." Aria's mentor, Nicar, sat down on the opposite side of her.

"Why's he called Bjorn of the Log Pile?" Aria leaned forward to hear the story better. It kept her distracted from the chills running down her arm and the squirming feeling in the pit of her gut.

"Our dear friend Bjorn has a habit of drinking too much at parties."

"Do not."

"Shh...let him tell the story." Aria chided the burly man next to her. He huffed in response, crossing his arms.

"So Bjorn's just outside this grand party at the tavern when he and his friend, Mac, decide they want to spar. The bartender, Almet, tells them to knock it off or take it outside. So they go just outside the tavern. Between them they've only got mostly a full set of armour. So Bjorn gives Mac his lower armour while he takes the top. There's a small crowd around them by the time they actually start sparring. Two full grown men stumbling around taking swings at each other with the sheaths of their blades, since they forgot their swords at the bar." Snickering arose around the campfire.

"A few good thwacks, and the guards were pulling them apart telling them to not be a spectacle of themselves. They went off arm and arm, until they reached the split point between their houses. Bjorn makes his way home, only to find that his lovely wife has locked the door. He knocked a few times."

Nicar tapped his knuckles on the rock for good measure. "Then tried the back door where they keep their log pile for the fire. That was locked too. Instead of going back to the tavern and getting a room, he decided to take off the rest of his armour and his pants and fall asleep on the pile of logs. I came by to check on him."

"Pff.. if you count checking on someone as pu-"

"Shhh."

"I let him sleep in the woodpile, but not before making the sight for his wife a bit more.. viewable. I picked one of the lilies from the yard and stuck it right between his fuzzy butt cheeks." Nicar picked up some sand from the ground. Flames engulfed it and in its place lay a small red and orange lily that he tucked behind Aria's ear.

"Awww that's so sweet, ya missed the part where I woke up and used your magical head ter git through ma own door." Chuckles erupted around the campfire once more.

Out of the darkness beyond, an arrowed whirred through the air, lodging itself deep in the chest cavity of Nicar. His eyes grew wide, hand shakily coming up to touch the brown shaft before he fell limp, eyes blank. A scream tore through the air, and it was a while before Aria realized the scream was coming from her. A large hand grabbed shoulder and pulled her up from her sitting position, the hilt of a heavy sword shoved forcefully against her palm.

Shouts filled the air, the campfire smoke blinded the occupants of the camp, while everyone scrambled after the source of their attackers.

"Stay with me girly. I need you to focus." Bright blue eyes came into view, jarring her from the numb haze in her mind to the frightening reality of the ambush around them.

Swallowing hard, Aria nodded, her grip on the sword handle tightening. Bjorn moved them forward through the crowd of bustling soldiers, Aria following closely to his back. Their attackers were coming from all sides as far as she could tell. Somehow they'd been surrounded, and the scouts hadn't noticed.

Ahead, Bjorn yelled and the clash of metal rang through the air. Aria turned just in time to barely deflect the blow of a glaive with the longsword in her hands, the force of the assault made her nearly drop the blade. Golden eyes gleamed at her from the darkness. Instinctively, she stepped backwards only to press against Bjorn's armour.

The glaive came at her again, this time sweeping across the side. With no where to turn, Aria hefted her sword to meet the blow of the polearm, hands and arms going numb with the ring of metal on metal. Gritting her teeth, Aria swung the sword at her foe who merely side stepped out of the way. Mirth was reflected in the golden eyes, if only for a moment, before it was replaced by the blank shock as Bjorn's sword pushed through the warrior's side. Their body fell to the ground, Bjorn tugging his sword from the downed figure.

"You okay, girly?"

"Y-yeah." Her voice came out hoarse, her grip on the sword shaky at best.

"Good, keep up!" Bjorn took off into midst of the battle. Aria followed him to the best of her ability, the heavy armour she bore weighed down on her heavily. Her boots sunk into the sand, slowing her down to a sluggish jog. Their attackers practically floated on the sand, moving in the darkness as though they weren't mortal. Either way, no human being could be that quick, Aria decided.

Something darted towards her from the corner of her eye and she turned, lifting the sword just in time to block an attack to her back. The sword slipped from her hands, and she dove for it, cursing as her attacker tried to stick her like a pig. Pain bloomed in her side, drawing a strangled cry from Aria's throat. The large figure of Bjorn appeared over her, pushing back her enemy.

Bjorn was a madman on the field. For such a large man he moved quickly and efficiently, cutting down any who dare stand in his way. There were a few spots in his armour that were darkly stained with blood, although Aria wasn't quite sure whose blood it was at this point. Reaching down, he tugged Aria to her feet, shoving her discarded sword into her hands.

"Keep up, girly, we're almost out of the worst of it." Bjorn's voice bellowed, just barely audible through the commotion of fighting soldiers.

The salt of the cold sweat running down Aria's skin stung her eyes, blurring her vision with tears. It was slow moving through the crowd. Men fell all around them as the enemy advanced upon their forces. Were there really so many of the enemy that they outnumbered the three hundred that had marched into the desert, could they also the same reason the previous patrols had died? Another cloaked being with a glaive came at Aria, leaping high in the air over Bjorn's head, crashing down behind him. Aria hardly had time to move out of the way, stumbling over her own feet. The cold, blood soaked metal of the glaive sliced across her cloth covered arms, ripping the fabric and flesh. It wasn't a very deep cut, due to the cloaked figure attention switching to Bjorn as the large man swung his sword while he turned, clipping their attacker's back.

Aria clenched her fist, a feeling of hot fire welling inside her, channeling up her arm. Standing, she punched the cloaked figure from behind while they were focused on Bjorn. The fire inside her swept outwards through the punch, setting the attacker's cloak on fire. A muffled, high pitched scream was all their assailant could emit before the fire consumed them. Bjorn stared at Aria, eyebrows raised, mouth slack.

"So that's what Nicar was teaching you. Damn girl-" He froze, mouth open. They both looked down to his stomach, a glaive had pierced through his armour. Blood bubbled from his mouth. The glaive ripped out of his stomach and he fell forward on top of Aria. She wiggled frantically, trying to get out from underneath Bjorn.

"Be still."

Aria froze in place, her breathing shallow. The darkness was overwhelming, and the trickle of blood on her chest from the body of Bjorn lying over her had her stomach churning.

"Sleep. Play de...ad. Move now and ya-" Blood spattered above her head as the fatally wounded man spoke. "- forfeit life. Morning come, they'll be gone. Live." A rattling gasp and the weak heartbeat of Bjorn ceased.

There was very little Aria could do now except follow the last advice Bjorn would ever give her. She could still hear the sounds of battle around her. Each thud of a body on the ground, the sands shifting around her, the sounds of metal on metal, metal through skin. Every passing moment she breathed in the iron heavy air, was each moment she lived a little longer. Aria wasn't sure when she heard the last body fall to the ground, but the sounds of footsteps and people talking didn't disappear for a long time. Above, sand whipped through the air. It was even longer before the cold night turned over into an even hotter morning.

Aria scrambled out from underneath the armoured body of Bjorn, digging through a layer of sand that had settled on them overnight. She gasped for a breath of air not filtered by a body beginning to decompose. Sand had covered a good majority of the bodies, but it was still very clear that what happened here was nothing short of a massacre.

Like the scavenging birds that were settling down on the bodies, Aria began looking for anything that could be of use to her; particularly canteens of water. She found very few that weren't filled with sand or tainted by blood. The sun beat down on her armoured shoulders, drowning her in a tidal wave of heat. It took nearly an hour of searching for her to create a makeshift pack filled with supplies, cover herself in a black cloak to shelter herself from the direct rays of sunlight, clean and dress her sand covered wounds, and switch into something that was lighter and cooler than the heavy armour she'd been wearing.

As she made her way to the edge of the mass of dead, she noticed a dark figure standing by one particular body. Brown tired eyes looked up at her as she made her way towards the horse. It was a wonder that last night's assailants hadn't taken the war stallion, one she recognized as their patrol leader's new five year old. One look at his swollen back right hock, and she knew why they'd left him for dead. There was no point in keeping a horse they couldn't ride home to victory.

"Hey boy. I'm not going to hurt you." Aria spoke softly, her hands in front of her. The stallion chuffed, but didn't move as she reached up and rubbed the crescent moon on his forehead.

"Can you walk?" It was rhetorical, but even after she said it the horse took a few awkward steps towards her. He had a limp, which was to be expected. Aria frowned, scratching the horse's neck one last time before turning away. She had a long walk ahead of her and no way to care for a mount. The stallion lowered his head to the ground, snuffling his old master's face one last time before slowly limping behind her.

The sun rose high in the sky as the two figures made their way across the dunes of sand. The air before them simmered and wavered, dancing with the heat of this forsaken place. Sweat poured off Aria like the marble fountain in the middle of her Mentor's garden back home. Sure, the cloak kept the direct sunlight off her shoulders and face, but it didn't help when the hot winds whipped sand through the air, embedding particles in her clothing and skin. There was no place to stop, no tree to hide under, no secret oasis in the desert to relieve one's burdens at. The prints the two companions made in the sand went on and on for miles.

Aria had quit trying to shoo the stallion. She'd dug into her pack, used a bit of water from one of the canteens, cleaned his wound, and wrapped it. It might've been a waste of precious supplies, but it held the guilt at bay. She put the packs on the horse's back, relieving weight off her shoulders, ensuring that she could walk…just a little longer.

Just a little longer is what she kept telling herself. She keping saying those words a few hours at time, and then every hour, a little less than an hour, until it was a mantra inside her head. It didn't help her at all when they reached the top of a ridge and before them a large cloud of sand and dust filled the sky in front of her, like a giant wave threatening to crash down on them at any moment.

Aria stood frozen to the sand beneath her, a cold dread running through her veins as she stared at the endless mass before her. Denying her instincts, she did the only thing she could think of, she hunkered down, wrapped her cloak around her so that it covered her entire head, making a decent filter for her nose and a blindfold for her eyes. The war horse, whom she had begun to call Titanius or Titan for short, laid down next to her and she covered his face with part of her cloak, holding tightly to the young stallion's thick neck.

Sand pelted them from above and behind. It felt like tiny pinpricks all over her back, miniscule daggers that embedded into her clothes, and edges into seams. The storm lasted nearly an hour, passing over the two, leaving them no worse for wear. Shakily, Aria stood up, dusting out her cloak and the horse's gear as best she could before repacking everything. She took a few moments getting feeling back into her legs, and checking on the bandages of her companion's leg and her own side.

Their journey continued into the night, where temperatures dropped and the winds picked up. Where the day's winds had been burning hot, the wind at night was a cold burn, intent on freezing Aria. A half moon hung in the sky, guiding her path eastward. She didn't have a lot of material to maintain a fire, and the magic that burned in her blood was unreliable at best. When she did stop, she found very little sleep as she huddled against the warm mass that was her horse.

It was some time before the sun began rising that Aria opened her eyes from an unrestful half sleep. The bandages were checked, water was drunk, and then they were walking once more, one arm slung up on the withers of Titan for support.

Halfway through the day she ran out of water in the last canteen. That was when the odd prickly vegetation nearby called her over. The sharp long thorns it bore pricked the skin and if she wasn't careful when cutting open the odd red bulbs, easily embedded into the flat of her hand. Still, it was worth it when the cut open bulbs produced a slightly milky substance that was slightly sweet and acidic tasting. She offered a bit to the horse, but he sniffed at it for a moment before turning his head away. Well, he wasn't a desert-bred horse, so maybe he didn't know what was good for him. The horse would come around when he got really thirsty.

Hours later, Aria fell to her knees as her stomach roiled and she emptied the lackluster contents onto the sand. Her stomach seized upon itself, and no amount of crying would make it stop. Aria didn't know how long she lay there in the sand, dry heaving as the contents of her stomach had all but disappeared and the desert sand swallowed up what she'd regurgitated.

A soft black nose nudged her arm. Aria turned on her back to stare up at encouraging brown eyes. Her legs shaking, she used the horse's body as her own support, clinging to the saddle. Aria took a step forward and fell into the sand once more. This time, when she got up, she clambered into the saddle. Titan didn't seem to mind, ears flickering back towards her lazily, before he began to plod forward into the desert with Aria slumped over the cantel of the saddle. It was some while later that she slowly slipped from the saddle to relieve her bowels. There was no place to truly to hide herself as she did her business, so she was stuck digging a hole in the sand and hoping for the best. She tossed away the sullied cloth she used to clean herself up before pulling herself back up on the horse.

The setting sun reddened the sky when they reached the top of a large sand hill overlooking a desert town. Aria clung to the saddle, desperately trying to keep her balance and her eyes open as Titan took the most direct down the hill and towards the entrance of the village.

Dimly, Aria heard shouting voices. She could see golden eyes, prominent noses and hair as red as the sunset surrounding her. Something nudged her side. That was all it took for her body to slip from the saddle, and the encroaching darkness to overtake her.


	2. Chapter 2

Groaning, Aria slowly sat upwards, her hand creeping to the back of her head to run through her bloody, matted hair only to brush through tangled, but clean locks. Her eyes flew open as she brought her hand in front her face. It was bandaged, where previously her hand had been covered in small puncture wounds covered in dirt and sand. Curling her hand into a fist, Aria looked around the room. It wasn't really a room, but more of a cell. The 'bed' she laid one was really just a pile of itchy hay and a sheet. The light coming in from the bars was from two large torches in the stone hallway.

Aria was truly alone.

That didn't stop her from trying to get out. Slowly coming to a stand, her legs threatening to buckle beneath her own weight, she forced the burning in her veins forward to her hands. They gave off a warm glow and she pressed them to the metal of the bars on the far side of her prison cell. Aria tugged as hard as she could away from the stone wall as the metal began to warm up slowly. If she could just get one of the bars far enough to the side she could slip through and...soft footsteps could be heard down the hallway.

Aria rushed back over to the bed, laid down and tightly shut her eyes pretending to sleep. Not that anyone would be fooled with her laboured breathing. She turned to face the door at the sound of the lock clicking open. Two women in purple came over to her.

"Where am I?" Was the first question that blurted from Aria's mouth. She said no more due to the annoyed glares the two women gave her. One woman grabbed her shoulder and hauled her to her feet, shoving her towards the doorway. There were two other women in the same light colored garb waiting for her. They didn't touch her, but it was obvious from the tension in the air that they wouldn't hesitate to crush her like an ant under their thumb if she tried to get away.

The halls they went down were winding and endless. They rarely passed by any windows, or anything that would remotely make a landmark in case she did figure out how to get out of the compound. Then what? Would she even have the time to find Titan? Would she keep heading east? Aria wasn't given much time to contemplate an escape route before she stood in a grand hallway, where at the center of the room stood a tall woman in pink clothes similar to the guards next to her.

"I was told there were no survivors from that little spat in the west. Who are you?" Golden eyes stared at Aria from all corners of the room.

"I… I.."

"Oh? Has the little westerner lost her tongue? I won't repeat myself again. Who are you?"

"I'm Aria, apprentice of the Great Nicar. Where am I?" Aria clenched her bandaged fist, the sting of it a firm reminder as to the ordeals she went through in the desert, of all the men felled in their service to their kingdom.

"You're in the Gerudo Valley. What was your plan exactly? Storm the fortress with no army, riding a limping horse?" Laughter echoed around the room.

"I didn't..." Aria paused, staring at the the woman grinning before her. She must be like a walking joke to them, some naive little girl who just magically survived wandering through the desert.

"You don't look like a warrior. If you were, you wouldn't be stumbling over your words right now. Is your kingdom so weak that it sends trainees to the front of their self-made wars?"

"No. I just… I followed my mentor who was drafted."

"Why? Why not stay home, keep training? What was so great about this Nicar?"

"He.. he was the only one who could teach me to control … my skills."

"Oh? So he was your best warrior?"

"In a way… yes."

"And now?"

"Now? He's gone. Now.. I don't know what I'm going to do. There's nothing left at home for me and…"

"And?"

"And I'm your prisoner aren't I? So what are you going to do with me? Kill me, sacrifice me to your gods..?"

This time the room roared with laughter. The pink garbed woman before her doubled over with laughter, her eyes shining with tears of mirth.

"Sacrifice you. Oh Goddess, where do you get your ideas from? First you survive an ambush, then you travel across the desert all alone, and you think we're going to _kill_ you for showing that you have the strength to survive? No!"

"Then… what?"

"That's for you to decide. If you want to stay a prisoner, I won't deny you that, but there are much more useful things you could be doing."

"So I could just ride out of here like nothing happened?"

"Not exactly."

Of course. Everything had a catch.

"Passage through the Gerudo lands has to be earned."

"You just said that I-"

"I know. So you have a few choices. Stay as a prisoner, train as one of us- you'll be trained as a warrior since you've already shown an aptitude for it-"

"Um… I'd rather not."

"Not?"

"Be trained as a warrior. I survived the desert, sure, but I.. I'm not a warrior. I don't have any training, I've never actually.." Aria paused in her protest. She had killed someone. Not with the heavy broadsword, but with the magic she couldn't control. She lifted her bandaged hand to her face, staring at it as if it would burst into flame at any second.

"Hey… kid?" The redhead touched her hand, moving in front of her face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm… cursed."

"Cursed? Cursed with what, dashing good looks, a good right hook? Do you turn into a wolfos every new moon?" That got a few chuckles from around the room.

Aria's eyes scrunched in confusion and took a step back. Magic was.. taboo at best in her old kingdom. It'd taken her months to find Nicar, and even longer to convince him to begin training her. Being a magic user could get you killed if you weren't careful with whom you trusted or used it around, having little control over your magic was practically a death sentence, but now she was here and the only way to tell someone was to show them. Wherever here was.

The first thing she noticed was a vine growing from a nearby window. Plant life was safer than fire. It was the desert, and things burned easily, if she set the room on fire, who knew when it would stop.

Gerudos moved out of the way as she reached towards the vines. She could feel the spark of life that was in the plant, feel it's will to live and slowly she put her will into it- commanding it to grow.

The vines crawled through the window and began to thicken, digging into the stone of the wall fast than she expected, sapping the energy from her unbidden.

"Oh! Why didn't you just say you could do magic? There are a few members that can train you. You can make it stop now, we get the point."

Aria clenched her first, trying to deny the plant her will commanding it under her breath to stop. It didn't stop, the vines thickened and began crawling outwards and across the floor.

"Stop" Why wasn't it working?

"Cease." Aria tried again, verbally louder this time, brows furrowed in frustration. Fire was more behaved, if she could control her emotions she could control the flame, but this was like the plant had it's own ideas.

"HALT!" She yelled at the plant, but it took no heed of her.

"Aveil, go get Koume and Kotake. Hurry!" A woman in red darted through the door as other ladies moved to the other side of the room to get away from the plant's warpath across the stone.

Within moments two figures flew into the room on rickety brooms. They viewed the path of the plant's growth and studied Aria's attempts to stop it for just a moment before the red jeweled one set the plant on flame. It burned with the same intensity as it's growth fighting for life even as it began to curl and burn in on itself. The other elderly woman on her broomstick, calmed the fire with a splash of ice, successfully freezing the plant's remains to the stone.

Aria fell to the ground, tears in her eyes. She hid her face in her knees and softly sobbed. She could barely hear what the woman in pink was saying to the two on their brooms, but it couldn't be anything good. What was the point of having all this power if you couldn't control it and keep it from harming others?

"Hehe, an apprentice! We haven't had one in a long while."

"Oh yes! This will be so much fun!"

Slowly, Aria lifted her head to stare at the group discussing her future. Apprentice? Had she heard right? Even after almost strangling the room with a plant, they were still willing to train her to control it?

A warm hand squeezed her shoulder and when Aria looked up for a moment she could've sworn she'd seen Bjorn's smiling eyes at her only to realize they weren't blue, but gold instead. It was the woman in red from before, Aveil.

"Hey, you'll be alright kid. They'll get your magic under control and then you'll start regular gerudo training. You'll be a pro in no time." Aveil smiled down at her, and offered her hand. Aria took it, and allowed Aveil to help her stand up. Their hands slid up to each other's forearms in a firm friendly grip, smiling at one another.

"You must be exhausted from using all that energy on that plant." The blue jeweled woman on the broom flew over to them,

"Of course she's not tired Koume! Look at her, she's still go the energy to go on all day!"

"Oh hush you, I'm the older sister I say she needs her rest!"

"Older?! We're twins!"

"I was born first, so that means I'm older."

"You don't even remember who was born first, I'm the older sister!"

"No, I distinctly remember you being second."

Aria coughed loudly, distracting the twins from arguing. "Um.. I could do with a bit more practice, if that's alright?"

"Of course! But not here"

"Goddess no, not here! We have an actual room for training in magic."  
"Much safer!"

"Come come, follow us"

With one glance backwards at Aveil and the pink garbed gerudo, Aria jogged behind the twin broomstick riding witches. The hallways were long and winding, but it there were more memorable junctions due to being able to see outside of the windows this time.

The training room was huge, and rather plain. There were plenty of lovely painted designs on the wall, but the areas of smashed and burnt wall took away from all it's grandeur.

"Whoa… what happened here?"

"Training of course!"

"Did you two-"

"Some, but most of it was our son."

"Oh yes, our dear son. He's quite powerful, you know!"

"Very powerful! He's the King of the Gerudos. We trained him since he was a little sprite."

Koume and Kotake turned to her, though she wasn't quite sure which one was which yet.

"We'll start with plant life, since that's what you were having issues with. Now as you probably know already, everything has a spark of life in it. Sand, Shadows, Wind, Fire, Plant, Water, even the food you eat may still have remnants of a spark in it. It's seeing and controlling those sparks that make use magic users. Some people can see the sparks, but not touch them in anyway. You can obviously touch the sparks, but can you see them?"

Aria swallowed before nodding, her mouth parched. "I can see them. I can see all of them if I focus on letting them all appear to me. My last mentor said it's dangerous to see them all at once though, they're overwhelming and then some… some sparks start moving on their own, start using your will, your magic against your permission and…" She faltered as she closed her eyes to stop herself from accidentally calling forth sparks that she wasn't meant to be focusing on.

"Well, it's good that your old mentor taught you something, but closing your eyes isn't going to do you any good." The red-jeweled one said, sniffing in disdain.

"Oh Kotake, be nice. It's a start." The one who must've been Koume rolled her eyes at Kotake's disdain. "Well, let's focus on getting you to control your own will then, without the plant. I want you to feel inwards. It'll feel something like the wind or perhaps water inside you, bubbling to get out. It could be leaking out like a crack in a bowl."

"Could be.. It is leaking out, like a weak dam holding back a waterfall."

"Oh shush you, don't scare the girl."

"She has to be made aware of how little she's actually controlling her energy."

Aria ignored their bickering this time, she supposed she'd eventually get used to it. Slowly, she closed her eyes and felt envisioned herself, that covering her was… The energy inside her bloomed forward like an exploding flame, engulfing her in a whirling vortex. For a moment it spooked her, and Aria almost opened her eyes.

She could feel what Kotake was talking about. A lot of the energy was flaring outwards, trying to touch the many sparks around them. Carefully, like a shepherd and their dog herding sheep, she began bringing the energy back towards her. It was difficult at first, sweat dripping down the side of her face as the fire struggled to flow outwards. Once or twice, she dropped the energy long enough to look at the system of her energy. It was like a burning ball of fire, flaring outwards as the rays of a sun does.

"Find a way to smooth it, girl."

"Work it like a well oiled clock." The two witches encouraged her, their voices barely discernable through the rush of energy in her ears.

Clockwork. Didn't Kotake say it was like a waterfall? Every waterfall had a river behind it right? Aria frowned and began reworking her center, pulling it out of a tightly constructed ball that her younger self had allowed it to form into, and began weaving it like knotwork, connecting every strand to the point where all those flares were pulled into the final weave and brought to her center. There was still a ball at the center, but now it was surrounded by a flowing river of molten energy.

Aria opened her eyes, gasping for breath. Like she'd just run a marathon through the desert, her lungs ached, her wounded side hurt, and she wanted to drink a gallon of water. Aria's knees buckled underneath her and she slid to the floor.

"Did I do.. okay?"

"You did wonderful! Such intricate knots! You really have an eye for weaving, which will be perfect for future lessons!"

"Yes… you did well."

"Well… you boof! She did great!"

"Um..." Aria interrupted them before Kotake could respond to her sister's insult, "I don't suppose I could have some water.. or a bath?" Aria looked down at herself. She was drenched in her own sweat and covered once more in sand.

"Of course. Lessons over today. Here, one of the girls will lead you to the bathing room and then back to your room. We'll also have a pair of fresh clothes sent to you. Hmm.. not as tall as Nabooru, but not as slim either.." Koume looked her over, guesstimating her size before calling a purple-clad gerudo into the room.

The gerudo pulled her to her feet and began leading her down the maze of hallways.

"Hi, I'm Aria." Golden eyes glanced at her, but Aria was given no response to her introduction and their walk fell into silence.

Thankfully, it was a rather short walk. The room was steamy, and the walls had shelves of different scented shampoos and soaps. A hand on her shoulder was all it took for Aria to trip over her own feet while turning around, and land on her bum.

"Whoa there little spitfire. It's just me, Nabooru. We met before, remember?"

Aria nodded, a blush spreading through her cheeks. Nabooru offered her a hand up.

"Feel free to use any of the soaps and shampoos on the wall, since this a communal bath. Towels are over here, here's new clothes for you when you're done bathing. Dirty clothes go over here." Nabooru guided her around the large bath, showing her everything she needed to know about the room before getting undressed. Aria blushed and looked away, but followed suit. Back home everyone had their own private baths, or used the communal one, and since she had little control over her magic she avoided being out in public as much as possible.

Aria grabbed a bottle that was labeled 'Willow" for her shampoo and soap, set them down on the side of the bath, before slowly slipping into the water and submerging herself. A hand grabbed her shoulder and jerked her out of the water.

"Are you okay, were you trying to drown yourself?" Nabooru bombarded her.

"No! I can swim, I'm not going to drown."

"Swim?"

"Yeah. You know, move in and underwater. Completely submerge one's self and move around. Swim." Nabooru stared at her oddly. "I.. I guess since you've only really know the desert, most of you don't know how to swim."

Nabooru shook her head.

"Oh. I guess, if we find water that's deep enough, I'll have to teach you sometime." Aria, realizing just how close the other woman was, blushed and turned. She picked up the shampoo only for it to be grabbed out her hand.

"Huh, desert willow. A nice choice. I wouldn't recommend using it on a trip to hyrule."

"Hyrule?"

"Yeah, it's the kingdom nearby. We go there sometimes to have a good time." Nabooru pulled out the stopper and began massaging the shampoo into Aria's wet hair. The hair on Aria's arm rose.

"Uh, I can do it."

"Nonsense. It's more relaxing and fun this way." The darker woman tugged playfully on Aria's pointed ear. Aria winced, her blush only spreading to her ears in response. She didn't have the heart to tell Nabooru that they were sensitive and that back home the only person to touch your ears were yourself or a lover.

"S-so it's just women here then?"

"Yup. Every hundred or so years a male is born and he is our king, but other than that we're all women. That's why we go to Hyrule, to find us some menfolk, isn't that right gals?" Nabooru slowly brought them over towards the other group of women bathing. A small cheer went up in the air in response to Nabooru's question.

"Do they come back here with you?"

"Nope. We just spend a few nights there, then come back. Think of it like.. a women's only club. Not counting our King."

"You keep mentioning a king...will I meet him?"

Nabooru shrugged at this. "I guess. He's away on business, but there's always the chance you'll spot him somewhere around here." Nabooru tapped her lips in contemplation for a moment. "We could always set up an official meeting, but then if he's in a bad mood or if he doesn't find you interesting enough it'd be a waste of time… Ah, you'll see him eventually." Nabooru returned to washing her hair.

"So what's it like back west?" Aveil waded over to the group.

"It's.. nice? It's not the desert, but more of a valley that goes all the way to a huge river. Our leaders aren't… they're not the brightest. They kind of stick to marrying within the family and.. well you know." Aria paused,eyes going wide as she realized how blasphemous she sounded. She was practically spouting off treason!

"Don't worry, you're not going back there all that soon. It's good to have you opinions on your rulers, it means you're not a sheep."

"Do you hear that, all? Aveil just called you sheep!" Nabooru grinned. A splash came somewhere from the side.

"Oh? You wanna go?" Aveil splashed back, hitting Aria in the crossfire. An all out war started. Water flew everywhere, soap dropped into the pool, toes were stepped on, and hair was tugged. Aria ducked under the water to avoid the majority of the fight and swam to the edge. She stood up on the stone.

"You may be sheep, but I am Queen of the Water!" She yelled. She saw the spark, and suddenly there was a small tidal wave upon the other girls. They shrieked as water poured on them from above. Someone pulled her back into the water.

"I've caught the queen, what shall we do with her?!"

"Battle our mightiest warrior!" "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Aria yelped as Aveil lifted her onto her shoulders. Nabooru was also lifted upon someone else's shoulders and they were walked to the very center of the bath.

"Rules! No ear tugging, hair pulling, biting, strangling, killing, punching, drowning, or magic. Try to keep your balance. Don't drown your mount! Got it? Good. BEGIN!"

Aria wasn't sure what to expect, but she wasn't expecting Nabooru to grab her hands and shove. Her legs came under Aviel's arms and feet rested on the gerudo's back for support as she tried not to fall backwards into the water. Regaining her balance, she grabbed onto Nabooru's hands and shoved back. It hardly made a difference to the taller woman who just shoved right back. Green eyes narrowed, Aria pulled Nabooru's hands towards her instead of shoving this time. Nabooru's balance slipped for a moment, but stayed on. With her only trick found out, it was no wonder Aria soon found herself in the water. She surfaced for air rather quickly, Aveil surfacing just after her.

"The queen has been dethroned! Bow down to you new qu-ahh" The gerudo holding Nabooru up let go and ducked under the water, dropping the winner into the water.

"I guess that means there are no queens in this pool!" Aveil declared, laughter echoing off the walls.


	3. Chapter 3

It was some time later before Aria made it out of the bathing room, dressed in clothes that were a little too long and a little too loose. She'd been given a simple tunic and rather baggy pants. Her hair was left down to dry, despite Nabooru's attempts to put it up in a high ponytail like her own. Aria was escorted to her own bedroom, but not before she had them make a quick detour to the stables to check on Titan. He was doing fine, their horsemaster had rewrapped his leg and she'd been told he would make a full recovery within the month.

Aria's room was rather bare. Everything was made of stone. The windows were basically holes in the wall, with no curtains to block the wind from coming in. Her bed, at least, was rather comfortable. There was one pillow, and two sheets, one thicker and heavier than the other. That night, when the winds came, she was thankful for that heavier blanket. It was better than sleeping in her cloak, but it didn't keep out all of the freezing cold winds. For a place that was egg-burning hot in the daytime, it sure was cold at night.

Aria was half tempted to start a small fire in her bedroom to keep the cold at bay, but the smoke would probably cause too much concern from the other inhabitants of the fortress. Instead, she just curled up in a ball and tried to sleep through the night.

The heat of the sun woke her up the next morning. The early hours of the morning were the most comfortable to sleep in, but how quickly they had changed. Perhaps the closer you go to the center of the fortress, the warmer the nights were.

A gerudo brought her a new set of clothes and told her she was to be escorted to breakfast and then to the training room before leaving the room to allow her to get dressed.

Aria tugged on the skin-tight black pants, boots, bindings, and blue tunic after she checked on her bandaged side and rebandaged it. The woman who escorted her to the dining hall left her at the door to join her friends. Aria glanced around for a friendly face, but she didn't spy anyone familiar.

The nervousness that wracked her body was like an invitation for her energy to unravel the knots she'd woven them into. Aria bit her lip, before she found the end of the table that had less people around them. Sure there was a huge table that had no one sitting at it, but something told her that's not where she wanted to sit. She was given a few glances, but was disregarded for better conversation.

Aria ate lightly, picking at a little meat, a bit of eggs, and this weird gritty, mealy, white goop that tasted okay with a bit of pepper and salt. It didn't take too long before one of the gerudo came over and sat next to her.

"Hey stranger, I'm Faruin. You probably don't remember me from the bathing room. I was the one holding up Nabooru."

"Oh, Hello! I'm Aria."

"You know, I've never seen anyone surprise Nabooru in a water fight like you did. You lasted a lot longer than we all thought you would."

"Umm.. thanks, I guess. I'm not really a warrior like the rest of you…"

"Oh, I'm not a warrior. I have the basic training, but I'm one of the architects and carpenters here. All of us have the basic training, but you… I heard you do magic and that you survived our ambush and the desert."

"Yes? Sort of. I mean.. It's not.. I wasn't very honorable.. I just listened to advice of an old warrior and well hid under his body and.." Aria's brows furrowed. She didn't want to dwell on the ambush, or feeling the life fade from the Bjorn's body as he protected her in his final moments.

"It's not dishonorable to hide or listen to someone more experienced than you in war. You survived. It's a hard lesson, but it's one every warrior learns."

"I'm not a warrior."

"You keep saying that, but I think you'll prove us otherwise."

Aria shook her head, it wasn't worth arguing about. "So, how come no one is sitting at that other table?"

"Our king sits there. Occasionally Koume and Kotake do as well, but they prefer their meals in private."

"What's he like?"

"King Ganondorf? He's-"

"Ganondorf? That's an odd name.." Aria couldn't help the slight upward tilt at the corner of her mouth.

" _King_ Ganondorf. You have to be respectful to him. He's a powerful man, but he's got a bit of a righteous temper."

"I've never heard of a temper being considered righteous before. Koume did mention he was powerful, and he knows magic too. Is he more powerful in his magic than Koume and Kotake?"

"I...I'm not sure. I suppose one of them would be able to tell you."

"I don't suppose you know where the training room is?"

"Oh! Of course! You're probably a bit late, but maybe they'll be lenient on you since you're new." Faruin grabbed her hand and lead her to the training room, leaving her alone with the Koume and Kotake.

Any hopes of the two being lenient on her were dashed against the stone wall the moment she entered the room. The lesson began simple enough, with focusing on her energy once more. There were several threads that had become unknotted from the entire cycle and it took several minutes putting them back, only for Kotake to demand she reweave her entire energy knotwork.

"Why?!" Aria demanded. In her frustration the fabric beneath her feet set on fire. Cursing she wiped out the spark she'd ignited.

"You'll do it as often as you need to. No system is permanent, any system you create for your will shall always need to kept up. When you're put in a stressful situation the knots will fray and if you can't put them back together quickly you may spark something you'll regret. So do it. Again."

The first four hours were spent like that, unraveling the entire system and recreating it from scratch. With her final energy knotwork there was no longer a large ball at the center, but instead a unique heart-shaped knotwork that spread out in all mannerisms of designs that weaved in and out of each other and somehow ended back into the main knot.

They took a break together, eating lunch in private instead of going out into the main hall. Koume and Kotake bickered a lot, but they also knew much more than she when it came to magic.

"So.. who's more skilled and powerful at magic, the king or you two?"

"Well…" The two hesitated looking between each other.

"Our son is the most powerful physically and magically."

"Your son? Is he more powerful than the king?"

"He is the king, deary."

"Oh! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect-"

"Hehehehehe, you didn't disrespect us or him."

"Ohohoho, no! You'll worry about that later when you meet him." Kotake cackled, whirling in the air on her broomstick.

Aria frowned, worry settling in the pit of her stomach at the elder witch's words. He sounded like someone she really didn't want to meet.

"The girls mentioned a bit ago about going out to Hyrule. What's in Hyrule?"

"Men, supplies… They're a very rich kingdom and living in the desert isn't all that.. prosperous. So we have to go to them to buy supplies to last the tribe months. We're running a bit low, so it should be soon that the girls go out. Why, hoping to find yourself a Hylian?"

"I was just… I want to see more. I know I'm still settling in, but back home there wasn't a lot for me to see. I wasn't really allowed outside of the compound."

"Hmmm. I don't see why not."

"Once you know how to control your magic to a certain extent."

"Well then, let's get to it!" Aria said, stretching as she stood up. Training switched over to plant life, now that her energy was mostly in control. They started with a simple seed. Aria had to carefully measure how much will she put into the bright spark of life. It was real effort because it meant breaking on of the strands and leading it to the spark. At first she didn't put enough magic into, so the plant just unfurled into a small sprout, but then she put too much and it shot upwards, like the vine had.

Kotake and Koume had been waiting for that to happen, and showed her how to bring back the energy from the plant, into herself. She'd already known how to extinguish a spark of fire, but slowly receding the magic from a spark was an effort all in its own.

It took several more hours for her to get the hang of coaxing the plant out and then taking back what she'd given. By the time the sun was beginning to set, Aria was a sweating mess that hardly had the energy to walk. Still, she somehow found the strength to bathe with the other gerudo and find her way to the bedroom, skipping dinner altogether.

The next morning, it wasn't until Faruin was knocking loudly on her door that Aria woke up. How she slept through the heat of the day she hadn't a clue, but what she did know was that she had just missed breakfast and that she was desperately late.

"They're going to be so mad! You're over an hour late, forget about your hair, hurry!" Faruin moved out of the way as Aria darted through the door, hoping on one foot as she desperately tried to get her other shoe on. She'd figured out the quickest way to her room from the training room the previous night, so having an escort there wasn't really needed.

Not looking where she was going, she practically slammed into a person in the hallway. Aria stumbled onto the ground, just barely catching herself. She tugged up her shoe, not really seeing the large figure she'd knocked to the side.

"Sorry, so sorry. I'm late!" She called as she scrambled to her feet and raced past the caped man. She just barely heard the chuckling as she darted down the hallways, grabbing onto corners of the wall to help her turn. Aria almost ran into a few other gerudo, and when she made it to the doors of the training room she was completely out of breath.

"I'm so sorry, I overslept, and I.. I.." Aria gasped for breath, hands on her knees, face flushed red from lack of oxygen.

"Well, now you know better. It'll be a short lesson today, so we can meet with our son for a bit before dinner."

Aria nodded numbly, still trying to get her breathing under control. This lesson they focused on fire and ice. Two opposites, both with the ability to burn if you knew how to use it correctly. Koume's strength, she found out, was ice, meanwhile Kotake excelled with fire. Aria couldn't help but lean more towards fire, because she'd gotten used to the molten burn in her veins whenever she used that particular spark.

Fire was simple in the hot desert. There was so much warmth surrounding them already, that all it needed was a little help to spring forward. It wasn't until Aria could manipulate the fire into moving flame beetles that she switched over to ice training.

Ice required a lot more concentration, it also took more time than fire had, because every time Aria became frustrated with the element, the threads of her magic would start snapping and she'd have to redo the threading all over again.

Kotake was just as frustrated as she was, because it probably meant they'd have less time to spend with their King. Koume, however, was rather understanding. It wasn't easy to channel ice when there wasn't any water around and it was so hot. They didn't let her leave until she was able to form a ball of snow and encase it in ice.

She snagged two apples from the lunch table before heading off to the stable to check on Titan. She took a bite out of her own apple while Titan munched on the apple in her other hand, apple juices dripping down everywhere. Most of the horses in the stable were of the buckskin and chestnut variety. The chestnuts being slimmer, more regal looking, while the buckskins looked like your average all-around riding horses. It was after Titan finished off his apple that Aria noticed a dark horse at the end of the stables.

Glancing down the aisle, to make sure no one was around she slowly walked over to the dark beast. He was at least twice the size of the average horses here. It wasn't his dark coat or even his size that was daunting though. It was his intelligent red eyes that stared her down with an intensity all their own.

"Hey big fella, do you want part of an apple?" Aria offered the rest of her apple to him. It was a little more than half, and she moved slowly so the horse could see exactly what she was doing. Short refined ears flicked back and forth, as if he were contemplating taking the apple. Hesitantly, the dark horse leaned forward and took the apple from her hand almost delicately. Aria smiled, watching the stallion inhale the red fruit. Just as he finished, she turned to walk back down the aisle. A whicker stopped her in her tracks.

"Sorry big guy, that's the only apple I had left." A snort, and the horse stretched his neck out of the stall towards her.

Intrigued, Aria turned back around and walked back out, just barely out of reach of the stallion. Slowly she offered her hand once more. A soft muzzle and nose ran over her skin, taking in her scent and the smell of apple juices. Cautious, but not fearful, Aria walked a bit closer. The black horse lowered his head, allowing her to rub his forehead and scritch his rounded cheek.

"Hey! Aria!" Faruin called from the isle, panic lacing her voice. Aria turned, so her shoulder faced the black horse and at the same time she could see Faruin.

"Get away from him!" Faruin came rushing over, only to skid to a stop as the stallion lunged at the place where she would've been standing if she hadn't stopped fast enough.

"Quit that." Aria muttered firmly to him, pushing his face away from the gerudo. He snorted in response, and backed up a bit so he wasn't pressed against the door.

"Oh,Goddess that was close. Are you crazy? That thing is the King's horse. No one touches him except the King and the horse master. You could've been killed! What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking he'd probably like the rest of my lunch, and he did." Aria shrugged. She'd gotten used to war horses during her time with Nicar, so being around a finicky horse almost twice the size of Titan really didn't bother her.

"If … if anyone finds out, the King will find out and then.. and then who knows what he'll do. He'll probably be really upset. We should go, now!" Faruin tugged her down the aisle, ignoring the snorting and neighing of the king's steed.

Faruin dropped her off with Aveil who was busy practicing archery. Aveil suited her up with a bow and a few dozen 'training' arrows. By training arrows, they meant arrows that weren't perfectly made, arrows that had more bend to them or were on the verge of snapping, and their tips were just rounded wood.

It took a while to get in the correct stance, and figure out that she had to pull back just so far before she actually shot her first arrow.

"So, I heard you woke up late." Thud. An arrow straight through the target's center.

"Yeah...I've never been more exhausted." Her arrow zipped through the air and landed just at the bottom of the hay made target.

"The wind is a bit strong, you need to aim a bit higher and to the left."

"Faruin woke me up, and I just...ran. I don't think i've ever gotten dressed so fast before." This time her arrow hit within the target's outer ring.

"Nice. Yeah, I had a few days like that growing up." Another arrow through the center.

"I was still struggling to get my left shoe on I accidentally barreled this guy over and-" Her hand slipped and the arrow flew past the target and embedded into the wall behind the range. All the color drained from her face, and her eyes grew wide as she realized just exactly what she'd done. Aria dropped her bow and her hands came up to cover her mouth. She turned to stare at Aveil in horror.

"You ran into...a man..?" Aveil glanced at Aria, arrows still hitting near the center of the target.

Aria nodded, a squeak of a "Mhmm" came out of her covered mouth.

"There aren't any men-" Aveil's arrow missed wide, embedding into the wall next to Aria's. "You ran into King Ganondorf." Aria nodded again. "You ran into the king on your way to your lesson that you were late for."

Nod.

Aveil threw her head back and laughed, dropping her bow and arrows as Aria had done beforehand.

"You ran over King Ganondorf while you were trying to put on a shoe! You have the best and worst luck I have ever heard of." Aveil leaned against the rail, her body wracked with giggles and laughter.

"I said sorry!"

"Oh gosh. I'm sure that helped."

"You think so?"

Aveil burst out laughing again at the hopeful face Aria had given her, using the rail to support her full weight.

"No! Gosh no! You have the **worst** luck."

"He uhh.. laughed, I think."

Aveil's eyebrows rose. "He laughed? Maybe your luck isn't so bad after all. I mean, it could be worse. He could've turned you into smithereens. He could've caught you and put you in prison, especially since you obviously aren't a gerudo by blood."

If Aria's face could pale even more, she'd be as white as cotton-made linen.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's forgotten all about you." Aveil patted her shoulder. Aria wasn't so sure, but didn't say anything as they tugged their arrows out of the haystacks. The ones embedded in the wall weren't going to come out any time soon.

The rest of the day, they spent talking casually about anything and everything they could think of, including but not limited to dancing, archery, sword fighting, magic classes, horses, horseback archery, fishing, and the best ways to run through and over the fortress without getting caught.

They visited the baths right before dinner. Aria sat down with the group of gerudos that had been in the bathing room at the same time as her. She listened in wonder of all their crazy exploits in Hyrule.

A hush grew over the dining hall as a tall dark figure strode into the room and sat at the empty dining table. Aria could hardly make out his features, except for coiled red locks and a golden 'crown' of sorts on his head holding his hair in place. He must've done something, because the conversation returned to normal.

Aveil nudged her side, grinning.

"Shut up." Aria muttered.

"What, I haven't said anything… yet."

"What's she talking about, Aria."

"Nothing!" A little too hasty.

"Miss late for class ran into our King."

"Oh, like she passed him in the hallway" Faruin questioned, assumingly.

"No. she ran into him. Like almost knocked him over."

"Shut up." Aria grumbled, nudging Aveil.

"Wait. You knocked the King over?!"

"No! I just.. clipped him and he kinda went to the side. He didn't fall. I fell."

"You're still alive right? I'm not talking to a ghost right now." Faruin pinched Aria's skin.

"Ow! No, I'm not a ghost." Aria rubbed her arm, sticking her tongue out at the gerudo.

"I apologized and he laughed. I was _late_. "

"You have the best -"

"Worst-" Aveil interjected.

"Best, worst luck in the world. Did you tell her about you petting the King's horse too?"

"You did what?!"

"Gosh, can't you guys keep anything low key?"

"You pet his horse, and it didn't kill you. You ran into him and _he_ didn't kill you. Are you just blessed by the Sand Goddess?"

"Can we just.. change the subject please?" Aria ducked her head, hiding her red face.

"It's okay. I don't suppose you still want that official meeting?" Nabooru appeared to her side.

"Oh Goddess, no. Please no."

"Are you sure? I can arrange it for you."

"She's already met him." Aveil responded to 'rescue' her, explaining all that Aria had already said. By the end of the explanation, Nabooru was guffawing so hard she had to sit down, tears running down her cheeks.

Nabooru reached over to Aria and hugged her close. "Too precious for this world."

"Stop that.." Aria grumbled trying to escape the woman's iron grasp.

"It's okay, we'll escort you to your room so you don't knock anymore kings over."

Aria grumbled under her breath at this, but didn't protest. True to her word, Nabooru, Aveil, Faruin, and a few other gerudo ladies walked with her to her room. It seemed that being surrounded by redheads slightly taller than one's self had the effect of being able to hide in plain sight.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the slower chapter! A lot of stuff going on in life right now.

The next morning there weren't any incidents. Aria woke up rather early, and instead of running down the halls, this time she peeked past every corner making sure she didn't see the King on her way to the breakfast. She slid into her seat next to Faruin, keeping low - especially when the King made his entrance and scanned the tables for a moment before he sat down to eat. Aria left with an early group, all who were heading outside to do various chores. Halfway down the halls, she took another turn and snuck into the training room.

"Well, you're certainly quiet today."

"Yes, what seems to be on your mind, deary?" Koume and Kotake flew overhead.

"It's nothing important. I'm just tense. Maybe it's because I'm not used to working out as much as I have been." It wasn't completely untrue. She hadn't had to work this hard back home, in fact she'd learned more about magic in the past few days then she had under years of Nicar's apprenticeship.

"You'll get used to it. I'm sure."

"You know...if you want to relax, the bathing room is usually rather empty before and after lunch. We could cut today's lesson short."

"Koume! How is she going to learn anything if we let her slack off?"

"She's already learned a lot in a few days. We should be working on mastering the elements she does know before shoving more on her."

"What if she touches the spark of an element she doesn't know? Accidental or not, she could cause horrendous havoc!"

"Oh, you, Sour Puss, she's got at least a month before the girls go out for supplies."

"You old hag, I meant here. I don't care what she does in Hyrule."

"Old hag?! I'm younger than you by twenty years!"

"We're twins! We were born the same year!"

"Um.. what element are we going to work on today?"

"Mastering the old one-"

"Water!"

"Mastery."

"Water!"

"Do I get a choi-"

"No!"

Aria backed away from the bickering pair. She couldn't just leave them like this, but at the same time, she wasn't really in the mood to just sit there and twiddle her thumbs while they argued about what she should or shouldn't be doing.

Aria pursed her lips looking around for a second, before blinking and allowing sparks to fill her vision. It was easy to ignore miniscule sparks, like every glimmering grain of sand. People had sparks of their own, motes showing their life force. As she'd discovered, it was considered generally impolite to stare at someone's spark for very long. At first, when lookinh at a being's spark, you just see a bright colorful light emanating from them, and if you look harder you can see the way their energy works around itself.

That energy was obviously different when it came to magic-users. Normal people were flat, their energy was there but it didn't move as much, it stuck close to their form. Magic users' energies were more fluid. Each user had to figure out a way control their energy, and it showed in their sparks. Nicar's energy was woven like a skein of yarn, where he pulled on the end string and let it unravel with as much energy he needed to use. She'd tried to do it that way, but it hadn't worked for her.

Koume and Kotake were odd. Their energies were rivers twisting and bending around their bodies, and at times they even seemed to entwine, blue mixing with red. When they argued, their energies tended to clash against each other.

Aria glanced away from them, focusing on energies farther away.

Learning how blind out smaller energies, like the dim ones from the stone in the wall, or the plant fibers in clothing, had taken her a long time to figure out, but it was something she'd been practicing since she was a young girl- before she even knew she could touch the sparks.

The normal energies within the compound walked around, doing their normal chores and duties. There was a rather odd energy at the end of the hall. It was still 'flat' but it had potential, vaguely purple and bright. The silhouette was a tall gerudo woman... it took a few moments for Aria to recognize it as Nabooru, but when she did she quickly turned to face the other way. Once you recognize a person, if they have the sight, there's the chance they'll see you looking at them.

Looking in the opposite direction hadn't been a good idea, or maybe it had. Just down the hall was a writhing spark, huge in it's form, hardly constrained by its system. There was obviously a system in place, but it was moving so fast and frankly it was rather intimidating. Aria squinted for a second. She hadn't seen this spark the first day she'd started training, and honestly had no clue who it could be.

Had she been staring too long? The writhing energy seemed to slow in it's path, shivering in place. The head of the person looked up and Aria backpedalled, blinking to return her vision to normal, cucco bumps rising across her skin.

Koume and Kotake were staring at her with an odd intensity. When had she plastered herself to the wall?

"I.. umm...I.."

"Looking at sparks, deary?"

"See anything interesting?"

"Or anyone you like?"

"N-n-no I just...Who _is_ that?" Aria peeled herself off the wall. She glanced towards the direction where she had seen the energy, but didn't look fully towards it.

"The king, of course."

Aria rubbed her arm, a blush rising to her cheeks. "So umm, did you figure out what we were going to be doing today?"

"It won't hurt to work on water…I suppose" Kotake sighed.

"Oh, okay. So.. where do we get the water from?" Aria glanced around. There wasn't a canteen of water or even a plant in the room.

"I'm sure you can find water in this room somewhere."

Blinking, Aria frowned as she looked around at the sparks surrounding her. The heat of the arid desert had a habit of sucking up any and all liquids nearby. If she could find even a hint of water, she could stretch it out, force it to bubble and grow and multiply to the point where even a droplet could become the size of a large ball.

Sweat dripped off the top of her nose and realization kicked Aria in the gut. She narrowed in on her own perspiration and willed the loose water to the palm of her hand. It was hardly the size of a pea, but it was enough.

"Good! When there are no resources around, you are your own resource. Our last apprentice found it in their blood. It...as a bit messy."

They spent all of until lunch working with water, spreading it thin, making it become three times its original size, changing it's colors using elements around them, even making it thicker into a form of paint, ink, and then back into water. During this time, Koume also explained which plants were safe to eat or drink from in the desert and how to remove poison from the plants, wounds, and anything else it was in. Aria recalled the cactus milk she'd drunk in the desert and how the stomach cramps and other issues were probably because of its natural protection.

Aria skipped lunch, opting to head straight to the bathing room. Just as Koume had suggested, there was no one in it. Aria sunk into the warm water, immersing herself completely. With no one around, it gave her the peace to play around with the water before actually washing off.

Her peace was interrupted with the abrupt arrival of Nabooru.

"There you are! Kotake told me you might be here. I've got a chore for you."

"A chore?"

"Ohoho, you didn't think you were going to get off chore-less did you? Yeah. Hurry up and get dressed, I've got things you need to do."

"Okay." Aria huffed under her breath, but dried off and got dressed. She left her hair down to dry, figuring it wouldn't take long since it was the middle of the hot day.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Here, take these to King Ganondorf. He's in war room, so I'm sure you'll find him in no time."

"Wait, I don't know where the war room is!"

"Well then, you better start looking, I've got to go train our troops. Hop to it, sprite!" Nabooru disappeared out the door.

"Damn." Aria cursed under her breath. She had no idea where the war room was, but then… there was always…

Sighing, she concentrated on finding the king's overwhelming spark. It wasn't hard to find, but it was quite a ways away.

Aria walked hastily through the maze that was the Gerudo Fortress. With her energy-revealing vision active, running into walls was becoming more and more likely. People not so much, since they had brighter sparks than the sand and stone. When she reached the double doors before the office her vision reverted and she stood there staring at the heavy wooden planks of the war room

.

Swallowing back her anxiety, she knocked.

"Enter." His voice was deep and commanding so much that it reverberated off the walls and rippled across her she pushed the door open. It was certainly the man she'd run into the other day at first glance.

Golden eyes narrowed in irritation, and looked down at her.

"Yes?"

"Nabooru sent these…" Aria offered the rolled up documents. He was huge, how she'd shoved him to the side was a mystery, because he looked as solid as a stone wall. His fiery hair was wrapped into odd tight looking coils, seemingly held in place by the gold jeweled headpiece. He was leaning over a desk, several documents splayed out, a large map taking up the majority of the desk.

"Set them over there on the other desk." His eyes returned to the map before him, ignoring her presence.

Aria did as she was told, carefully placing the scrolls on the other desk. There were a lot other scrolls cluttering up the desk already, and they didn't look to be in any particular order. She turned to leave.

"What do you know of the western border?" The question halted Aria right as she laid a hand on the door to leave.

"Sir?"

"I won't repeat myself."

"I… not too much. My.. the group I was in was a test of sorts, I suppose."

"Elaborate."

Aria turned to face him. "Well, we were a relatively small group of about three hundred, not the best warriors in the kingdom. We were all drafted or well...almost everyone was drafted. Apprentices follow their mentors into battle or they lose any right to be mentored. But, um we were more of a test to see how much effort it would take for their Majesties to expand east. Since, from what I know, no one came back they'll more than likely be doubling their efforts, maybe even tripling. The royal family had a habit of making really odd minor rules that wouldn't affect anyone, and when those rules were broke on accident by someone the minor rules would become extremely excessive for anyone under their thumb.." Was she babbling? Aria stopped talking, her body so tense she was afraid that at any moment a thread would snap on accident and she might set something on fire.

"Hmm.. what do you believe your old masters will do?"

Masters. As if she directly served under the scum that called themselves royalty.

"They'll send a bigger, more experienced force. At least one to three thousand warriors, majority of them having more experience in the desert and battle, probably the royal guard as well."

Alert eyes stared at her for a moment longer, before he waved his hand in the direction of the door and returned to planning the gerudo's next move.

Not wanting to be questioned any further or provoke his assumed wrath, Aria hurried from the room and down the hallway. She turned the corner to a more secluded hallways and slid down the hallway breathing a sigh of relief.

"Hey! What're you doing out here? Aveil's been looking for you." Faruin walked over, poking her arm.

"She has? Nabooru had me run scrolls to the king and I..."

"Did he recognize you?"

"I think so. He didn't say anything about me running into him though."

"Huh. He must've been busy. He's always busy. Anyways, come on. Aveil's waiting for you outside by beginner's ring."

"Beginner's ring? What's that for?"

"Beginners of course!"

"Beginners in what?"

"You'll just have to find out, come on!"

The beginners ring wasn't all that impressive. Aveil stood in the center, waiting for Aria to put on the heavy boots and chainmail armor. Walking in it was difficult, each movement stiff and awkward. She'd almost asked Faruin to help her up, but the gerudo had disappeared to one of the other rings.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess? What are we doing here?"

"Training."

"Traini- I don't want to train to be a warrior. I'm not-"

"You're a gerudo. Every gerudo learns how to fight."

"Why am I in such heavy armor then? It's just making it difficult to walk. How am I supposed to fight in this?"

"The point of the armor is to slow you down. You're going to get used to wearing it, constantly. Right now you only have boots and a bit of chainmail on. Once you can run in it, you'll get upgraded to plate and so on, until you can run and fight while loaded down like a pack horse."

"Wow. Do all gerudo train like this?"

"No. You're an exception. Gerudo start training at a very young age and being fast comes natural. You have to work up to it. Now grab that sword."

Aria picked up the greatsword. It took her two hands to lift it in what she assumed was a fighting stance.

"That's pathetic. No, really. First off, that sword is meant for one hand, not two. Your knees are buckled. If I hit you in the chest right now you'd fall over. Spread your legs evenly apart. Don't lock or buckle your knees. That sword is obviously too heavy for you right now. Here."

Aria was given a different sword, lighter and easier on her wrist. Aveil spent the next hour guiding Aria through the motions of the parry and the thrust. Then, Aria had to jog for two more hours in the armor. It wouldn't have been difficult if she'd gotten to take a break once in a while, but Aveil was a hard taskmaster.

"Good. You did rather well today. I'm letting you off easy today, but tomorrow before we start we'll go over how to clean and take care of the different types of armor." Aria nodded weakly, slowly pulling the armor off and handing it back. Her legs wobbled underneath her when she tried to stand. She looked like a newborn foal testing out it's legs for the first time.

Before heading to the bathing room for a quick dip, she checked on Titan. His leg was healing faster than she expected for a horse who'd just come out of the desert less than a week ago.

After bathing, Aria headed to dinner. Nabooru sidled up to her.

"So, how was your day?"

"It was fine, exhausting, but fine." Aria took a bite of the savoury meat before her.

"Fine? No incidents?"

"No incidents. What are you getting at?"

"So he didn't say anything to you?"

"Not really? He just asked what I thought the other side's next move was. Why?"

"That.. ugh.. He didn't recognize you or say anything about you running into him?"

"Nope. I mean, he probably recognized me, but he didn't say anything about it."

"I swear that man is so.. so.. ugh." Nabooru sighed. "Anyways, what'd you think?"

"Think?"

Nabooru shook her shoulder, making her drop her fork back onto the plate.

"Yes, think! What did you think about him? "

"Uhhh...he's...intimidating?"

"So you're telling me you were so scared that he'd recognize you, you didn't get a good look at him?"

"What are you- He looked busy, he was bent over a desk staring at a map."

"You're telling me you wouldn't want to be the map he was bent over?"

"I… what? T-that never really crossed my mind." Aria's cheeks reddened at the mental image Nabooru had offered her.

"Well, now it has."

"Goddess, do you really talk about your king like that all the time?!"

"How are we talking about the king?" Aveil interjected, sitting opposite of Nabooru,

"She.. she just.. really?! "

"Awwww innocent little Aria. She's thinking about the king bending her over the war table."

"Oh.." Aveil laughed, watching as Aria's face turned an even darker shade of red.

"I am not!"

"Hey, it's fine. He's a handsome looking guy. Strong, passionate, I hear he's a great kisser and an even better fu-"

"Wait, you've never kissed him before?"

"Nope."

"Uh uh."

"... does he not have a thing for redheads?"

"Well, it would complicate things if his second and third in command were being constant distractions instead of focusing on other important matters."

"Second in … wow. Why wasn't this mentioned before? What if I'd-"

"You haven't done anything that questions anyone's authority. Don't be such a worry wart."

"I don't suppose-" Aria was cut off by the sudden hush that fell across the hallway as King Ganondorf entered the room. This time she could clearly see him past the other gerudo. He walked like she supposed a king would walk, like he owned the world, tall and with purposeful strides. When he sat down conversation returned to normal.

Aria stared at him longer, brow furrowed. It took a nudge from Aveil to bring her out of her own thoughts.

"Huh? What?"

"You know if you keep staring at him like that, he's going to start staring back. Or worse. He'll walk over here."

"Why doesn't he?"

"What? You want him to come over here?"

"N- well sort of , not really? Why doesn't he sit with everyone else? Why doesn't anyone sit with him?" Aria glanced back to the near-empty table It looked so… lonely.

"Hmm.. it's not uncommon for advisors and generals, such as myself, to sit at that table. I prefer eating with the rest of the group."

"Doesn't he?"

"I…" Nabooru paused, tilting her head in consideration. "Huh.." As if a torch lit up in her mind, Nabooru looked at Aveil then back to the King's table.

"Oh.. I guess it wouldn't hurt." Nabooru didn't say anything, but she did motion at something. Aria wasn't quite sure what she was hinting at to Aveil. "Oooh, yes. Perfect idea. Let's."

"Let's wha- hey!" Aveil grabbed Aria's hand and tugged her away from her barely eaten dinner. Nabooru followed closely behind, winking at Faruin who had just walked in from finishing her chores. The gerudo gave them a confused look, but shrugged it off before walking to their vacated seats.

It must not have been too unusual to see Nabooru or Aveil head to the King's table, because very few gerudo stared for very long. Ganondorf only looked up from his meal when Nabooru placed her in the chair next to his. Aveil sat on her other side and began piling food onto the empty plate before her. Nabooru stood behind her chair, blocking in her only possible escape route, except perhaps if she slid down beneath the table.

The king stared down at her, eyebrow arched, and Aria avoided his gaze.

"Nabooru, what is the meaning of this?" His voice sent shivers down her spine.

"We thought you looked a bit lonely eating all by yourself, so we brought you company."

"Lonely?"

"Yup! Have fun you two!" Nabooru gave Aria's shoulder a firm squeeze, and Aria took it for what it was- a promise that if she tried to leave too early she'd get whatever torture they could think of. Aveil winked at her, mouthing 'Good Luck" before the two of them went back to their spot at the crowded table.

"Does she do this often?" Aria broke the silence that had settled over them. King Ganondorf glanced down at her for a moment before reaching towards the center of the table and pulling a slab of some odd meat onto his own plate.

"Nabooru enjoys playing the matchmaker. So long as it doesn't get in the way of her duties, it is.. tolerated."

"So… Why do you usually sit alone at the table, why not join the others?"

Ganondorf chewed his food slowly, swallowing before answering. "Why does it matter to you?"

"I.. just. I.. Why _doesn't_ it matter to you?"

"A king is held to a higher standard,"

"But they're your people."

"And _you_ are not."

"No.. I suppose I'm not. Not yet anyways. So, I suppose that means I don't have to call you _King_ Ganondorf the whole time then."

His shoulders stiffened, and she could see the tense set of his jaw and how the grip on his eating utensil tightened.

"It would be wise to not play with fire, little girl."

"I happen to like fire." A spark of fire appeared in her hand, in the form of a stared at the butterfly before pressing his hand onto her palm, quelling the flames until they extinguished against Aria's will.

"Child's play." He didn't remove his hand from hers, but she had other matters to deal with, like the sudden claustrophobic feeling threatening to overwhelm her. Instinctually, her vision began filling with sparks. His huge mass of power was pressing on her, testing her set boundaries.

"You're.." She took in a deep, shuddering breath.

"You said you liked to play with fire." He was amused, she realized. He enjoyed seeing her struggle to hold her own defense against his more mature, trained abilities. He took pleasure in building her fear.

Angry, she allowed her knots to to unweave and she pressed back against his spark, striking hard at his center. It made a lovely dent in his energy for just a moment before he began filling it back in. Frustrated, she squeezed his hand and tried again, this time getting even less leeway. Aria renewed her forces, using the warm feeling of his hand pressed to hers as an anchor to reality. She pushed his aura of energy outside her boundaries and held it there. The meat on her plate set on fire, and the hand of Ganondorf's that she wasn't holding patted it out with a napkin.

The power struggle only lasted a few minutes, though it felt like an eternity, before he backed off. Aria gasped for air, her lungs ached like she'd been holding her breath underwater for too long. That was when she noticed he was madly grinning at her and he still held her hand, his thumb running across the back of it. The king chuckled loudly, drawing the attention of all the gerudo in the room.

"Such untapped energy. I look forward to feeling it again." He released her hand, standing from the table. He reached over and brushed a loose curl away from her face.

"Oh.. and try not to be late for your lesson tomorrow." King Ganondorf disappeared out of the side doors. Once the doors were completely shut, drained, Aria rested her head on the table. It was going to take hours to fix all the shredded threads and knots.

"Well, that could've gone worse."

"I think he likes you." Nabooru's voice appeared from behind her. Aria lifted a single finger in her direction, and the taller woman just chuckled before putting her hand over Aria's.


	5. Chapter 5

Aria groaned into her pillow. Her body ached in all sorts of different places, almost as if someone had dropped a bag of bricks on her. If memory served her right, Nabooru had given her something rather fruity to drink last night after the incident with King Ganondorf. She wasn't quite sure what had happened after that. She recalled kissing someone, and then having to go the bathroom...a lot. Someone helped her to her room, she was sure of that, but everything else was a blur.

Her room was just beginning to feel warmer, which meant she could make it to breakfast and lessons on time even if she were as slow as a like-like. Getting dressed was a task in itself, nothing wanted to behave for her and she was extra slow moving because Aveil had put weights on her boots to encourage strengthening her legs. Every loud step while walking to breakfast was like having a miniature thunderstorm in her ear.

At breakfast, an explosion of noise went off in her head. Aria snagged a fruit and cup of tea from the table before walking halfway to the lesson room where there were less people around. She sat in the shadows, her head pressed against a stone she'd frozen. Aveil found her like that.

"And now you know not to take random drinks from Nabooru."

"Shutup."

"What?" Aveil's voice got a hint louder.

"Shut. Up." Aria groaned.

"Hehe. So I guess you don't want my hangover miracle?"

Aria grumbled into the stone.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Grumble.

"You're grumpy when you're hungover." Aveil laughed, putting a cup of something hot in Aria's hands. "Drink that before it cools, wait five minutes, then go to your lessons. You'll feel better, I swear."

Grumble.

"You're welcome."

Aria downed the cup, grimacing as it burned it's disgusting way down her throat. The heat helped her ignore the bitter taste and the gritty feel of the whatever plant pulp was in it. She sat there in the shade, re-icing the stone as she saw fit, until her headache slowly faded away. Her body still hurt, but without the head pain it was manageable.

The training room was pitch black. Heavy clothes had been laid over the windows, blocking out any and all sunlight, and the torches were extinguished. The door slammed behind her and she was left in the darkness.

"Hello? Koume? Kotake?"

She didn't need to close her eyes to see the sparks this time. There was one huge spark surrounding the entire room. She didn't generally acknowledge it as a spark, because it was really the absence of spark.

Aria ignited a spark of flame, but it was only a second before it was squashed by the shadows.

"Ah ah ahh.. that's cheating."

"G- Ganondorf? What are you-? Where's Koume and Kotake?"

"I'm teaching today. Come on, little firefly. Manipulate them. Find your way to light."

"You can't manipulate shadow. There's no spark."

"Spark? Is that what you see? Sparks? " His chuckle reverberated in the room, sending chills down her spine. He could be behind her right now and she wouldn't know.

"Oh, little firefly. They're not sparks. They're power. Feel the power, take the power, use the power. Do it."

Aria huffed. She reached out her hand in front of her. Her vision was spark-less, but it was clear there was something there, she just couldn't touch it.

"I don't … _feel_ anything."

"Try harder."

"How do you expect me to try harder, when I can't see or feel anything?"

"By trying harder!"

"Ugh. You're impossible!"

"We're not leaving this room until you figure it out."

"Where is Koume and Kotake? Why aren't they teaching me? Why are you of all people teaching me?"

"My mothers deserve a break. They have more important things to do than deal with you."

"So do you. Since you're supposed to be the king, after all."

"I do as I please."

"And teaching pleases you?"

The question hung in the air, room filling with silence as the king refused to answer her question. Aria spent what felt like an hour walking around the room trying to find the king. Maybe if she found him she could take out her frustrations by strangling him.

"What am I even looking for?" She muttered, trying to find the sparks again. It was still pitch black, except that the room seemed to be covered in almost.. a mist of some sort. It wasn't exactly like a spark, in that it shone, but it took up space and it wasn't visible through normal means. It clung to the ground, walls, ceilings, and even the windows as a heavy layer of fog.

Aria couldn't grasp it in her hand. It would sift through her fingers like the sand of the desert, reluctant to stay in one place. She did this several times before trying a different route.

She envisioned her own spark as the same substance, solid enough to grasp something, but airy enough that the mist should congeal around it. It took a few more attempts before she was able to grasp onto the the clouded shadow and pull it off the wall. It came off like a strip of loose paint. Aria moved to one corner of the room and began removing the shadow, shoving it into a tight ball in her hand. Like wading through a swamp, the progress was time consuming and by the time she reached a few feet from where she started she was sweating bullets, breathing was difficult, and all she could think about was crawling in bed.

At the center of the room stood a grinning king. He picked the ball up from her hand, tossed it in the air and the rest of the unnatural shadows flew into it.

"Took you long enough, I was beginning to wonder if it would take all week for you to figure it out." He squashed the ball in his hand, then waved his hand and the cloth covering the windows fell to the ground, letting in the natural light of the sunset.

"Yes, it took you all day to figure out one element. Not even the whole element. You just touched the surface of it." He responded to the astounded look on her exhausted face.

"So… does teaching please y-you?" Her legs gave out beneath her, and large muscled arms caught her just before she hit the ground.

Aria thought she heard a "Perhaps" before she blacked out from exhaustion.

It was morning once more when she woke up, a plate of breakfast was at her bedside table that hadn't been there before.

"Wow, he did a number on you." Faruin walked into the room holding two cups of something that steamed.

"Huh?"

"King Ganondorf came out of the training room carrying you. He carried you all the way back here. Koume and Kotake practically threw a fit when they saw you passed out. I thought they were going to freeze or set fire to their own son. "

"I wish they did." Aria grumbled, shoving her pillow over her head. Faruin whapped her on her arm.

"You shouldn't say such things about the king!"

"What makes him so great, Faruin? His bloodlines, his magic, the fact that he's the only man in the fortress? I just don't see it."

"I…" Faruin faltered for a moment. "He's just so… and then.."

"What? Hold up. Are you in love with him?"

"What?! No! Oh Goddess no! I mean.. He's handsome and strong and noble and and...dreamy-"

"You are. You are in love with him. Have you even _talked_ to him?"

"Well, no. That doesn't matter though! I'll win the annual warrior's tourney and he'll notice me and.. "

"I thought you said you were an architect."

"What, like I can't be both? I am a gerudo, and we have a proud history of being a diverse group of well rounded warriors."

"I'm not saying you can't, I just… don't you think it will be someone who spends all day training?"

"Nabooru usually wins it, but this year second and third command are going to be used as part of the trial. So Nabooru and Aveil are out of the running, and it's all up in the air of who will win it."

"Oh okay, so say you win, he just notices you as the winner?"

"He's the final trial. Anyone who beats Nabooru gets to go up against him. Obviously no one is going to win against him, but the one he finds to be the most powerful does."

"What's the prize."

"Being noticed by him as the most worthy opponent in the compound is a prize enough."

"So...nothing then?"

"Ugh. Yeah, there's a few trinkets and they make your own set of armour based on what will amplify your skills, but the King's approval is the real prize."

"Well, you're not going to win if you're sitting in here with me all day. Let's go out and train!"

"Yeah, you're right! I should go out and- wait.. Let's? Both of us?"

"Well yeah. Aveil was training me to be speedy and learn how to fight anyways. Your king knows magic, who says he won't use it in the tournament?"

"He… I.. I don't think I've ever seen him use it before?"

"There's a first for everything, besides maybe he's used it subtly, you'll need to know what to look for."

"But I can't see the magic like you and he can."

"You don't need to. I'll teach you how to feel it." Aria quickly switched into new clothes, tugging on her weighed down boots. They were getting easier to walk in, which meant Aveil would probably want to add on more weights.

"Hold up. You still have magic classes this morning."

"Koume and Kotake will understand."

"Didn't the king take over your training?"

"It was a one-day type of thing. Besides, this is just as- if not more- important! So let's go!" Aria tugged Faruin out of the room, past the dining hall, and to the training rings. Most everyone was still at breakfast, which mean the rings were basically empty.

"Alright, grab your stuff and show me what you've got."

"On you!?"

"No… on the dummy, you dummy!" Aria began setting up the ring for their training session, moving in two training dummies as Faruin donned her equipment.

"Alright. Show me your moves!"

Faruin wasn't too bad of a fighter, not that Aria was anyone to judge, but she did lack the balance and finesse that Nabooru and Aveil showed. After a few minutes of trying to explain to Faruin what she was doing wrong and not making much sense, Aria was dying to try something different.

"This is hopeless. I need someone like Aveil teaching me."

"Why don't you just ask her?"

"You don't just ask the third in command to train you."

"Why not?"

"She...she's busy, she has to train the top warriors of the tribe and help plan wars with Nabooru and the king."

"She's trained with me."

"Well yeah, but you… I don't know, you're just..."

"In need of a lot of training. Just like you. So we'll ask her a bit later to help with your training. Worst she can do is say no." Aria shrugged, pushing the dummies out of the ring. "Alright, time to try something different. I'm going to be really obvious with this, so if it feels overpowering or dizzying, you tell me."

"Alright?" Faruin shifted on her feet, a nervous look on her face.

Aria followed the king's example and began pressing the aura of her power onto Faruin. The gerudo woman gasped, goosebumps crawling up her arms.

"What.. that.. it's heavy out here."

"That's my energy. Does it feel like something familiar?"

"No. Yes... sort of... it's hard to remember a feeling like it. Why is it so heavy?"

"It's pressing on you. I'm not laying into you too heavily, but I'm not just poking around you either. I'm going to ease up a bit, tell me when you stop feeling it..."

It took a few tries before they got it right, where the magic was just barely surrounding Faruin but she could still feel it. From there, Aria explained and showed how magic can feel different, whether it causes the hair on your arm to raise, or a shiver through your spine to happen, or at times how it could feel like just the gentle brush of the wind in your hair. Then she set fire to the ground.

"I want you to race the fire around the ring. I know I'm not as fast as you, but I don't need to be with magic. Don't let it catch you and don't expect it to just chase you in circles. Go!" The fire turned a bright green and then darted straight towards Faruin. She yelped and darted off across the ring, the colorful fire hot on her heels. She didn't think her direction through apparently, because the fire surrounded her in a circle.

"I told you, you can't just go in a circle. You need to think on your feet." Aria sighed, grabbing a staff from a pile by the ring. "We'll start slower. Everytime the I hit the ground with the staff, the fire is going to change it's tactic, so either you think ahead or you expect the unexpected." Faruin nodded in understanding.

"Ready, Go!"

Faruin ran to the left, the fire behind her.

Thud.

A wall of fire appeared before her, up to her eye level. Faruin didn't think, she just did. She grabbed onto the rail of the ring and flipped over the green fire before darting towards the center of the ring.

Thud.

The fire seemed to rise from cracks in the ground, like lightning in the sky, unpredictable and jagged. It had Faruin jumping over every crack, maneuvering to the outer corners of the ring again. Just when Aria seemed to be setting up a pattern the wood of the ring began reaching for Faruin's arm when she got too close to the edge of the ring. Faruin shrieked and leapt away, almost touching the corner of the green fire.

"I thought we were just working with fire!"

"I told you to think on your feet. There's more than one element! Watch out!" Aria yelled. The sand beneath Faruin grabbed onto her legs and the gerudo fell to the ground. Aria whisked the sand hands away, running over to help Faruin up.

"Are you okay?"

"Pft." Faruin spat out sand from her mouth. "Yeah, you sure got me there. Give me a moment to catch my breath"

As Faruin stood up they noticed the slow heavy handed clapping.

"I see you've been practicing. Although, not as good as what I had planned for training today. Aveil. Take …. " Ganondorf stared down Faruin. Aveil was next to him an instant.

"Faruin, my liege."

"Ahh.. Aveil, take Faruin to another ring to train. I have some business with my student." They waited for the two gerudo to leave, before he began removing armor. First came off the chest plate, then the gauntlets, cape, boots, everything except his pants. A shiver ran down Aria's spine as she unabashedly watched him undress before her.

"You disappointed me and also surprised me today. Do you know why?"

"I'm not _your_ student. I'm Koume and Kotake's. No where did they ever mention being switched over to yours, or that you even somehow found time to teach."

"Hmm.. At least you had the decency to wait until they were out of earshot." The big man sighed. It was more than just frustration or irritation, it was like one of those heavy sighs one is prone to when they've had heavy decisions weighing on their shoulders and are getting less and less sleep.

"I have sent my mothers on a mission. In their stead, I am your mentor. I am _making_ time for you, do not mistake this kindness. I expected you to be bed-bound all day, in truth. They have gone easy on you, I will do no such thing."

Aria stared down at the ground, her thoughts a thousand words per second as she soaked in his words. Anxiety gnawed at her being, rising up questions like 'had she been abusing their kindness' and 'Faruin would give anything for this opportunity, who was she to waste it?'

"...What is the training for today, Mentor?"

"Hand to hand combat." He took her concede in stride as he walked up to her. He was so...huge. Aria barely came up to his elbow. When he decided out of nowhere to grab her hands, she flinched and tugged them away from him. He said nothing in response, but took one of her hands in his own, slower this time, and began carefully wrapping it up.

"Watch closely. If your hands aren't wrapped properly for hand to hand combat you're more prone to breaking it. A broken hand is a useless hand." When he was done wrapping her hands he bent down. He forced her left leg up and instinctively she grabbed onto his shoulders. Smug radiated off of him as he removed the weights on her boot, set it down and lifted her other leg to do the same.

"Try to hit me." He moved away from her. Unsure, she followed him, curling her hand into a fist, tucking her thumb in. Aria swung for him and he grabbed her wrist.

"Not like that." He uncurled her fist, then uncurled it,it so that her thumb was outside of her palm and fingers. "If you keep your thumb in your fist, you're going to break it. Try again."

The next time when she lunged for him, he caught her in the side. For such an intimidatingly large man, he was rather gentle with how he hit her. It hurt, but it was more insulting than painful. Even more insulting was his smile every time she failed to land a strike on him. A few times she was certain she'd almost hit him, but his leg would come up behind her knee and she'd find herself on the ground.

After the fifteenth time of finding herself on the ground, the frustrated Aria kicked off her shoes and ran towards him. The King grinned as she balled up her fist properly and took a jab at him, lighter on her feet. He wasn't expecting her fist to wrap in fire from all her frustration. He grabbed her arm, pulling the fiery fist away from his body, but her other hand came up and smacked him. Using his own tactic against him, the back of her heel clipped just behind his knee and they went down. Aria closed her eyes tightly, as they thudded to the ground.

Ganondorf landed on top of her with a groan. The fire of her fist was out, but they were a tangle of oddly placed legs and sore sides. The king propped himself up on his arms a bit so his full weight wasn't crushing Aria. He was no worse for wear, his tightly bound hair now loose and flowing over his back and shoulders, a few scrapes on his feet and arms, and his cheek smarted.

Aria's eyes opened, and the first thing she noticed was the prickle of hair on her face, then the eyes of liquid honey staring down at her. Her eyes meet his for a moment, before she glanced away, to his full lower lip. Mouth dry, she swallowed, tongue darting out to wet her own suddenly too dry lips. Her vision slowly moved up from his mouth, over the slight curve of his crinkled nose back to his eyes, so fixated on her own. Aria's breath caught in her throat as for a moment he seemed to get closer and-

Someone coughed loudly. King Ganondorf pushed off of the ground, sparing her one last lingering glance before moving away towards whoever had coughed. Aria's deep sigh was one of relief. She picked herself off the ground, wiping the gritty sand from her hands before joining the conversation with Nabooru.

"-out another group for an ambush. We lost a few girls last time, and I think they're just trying to get a good idea of our tactics."

The king huffed, his hands clenching the wood of the ring's fence.

"Or they could be trying to whittle down your numbers before sending in a massive attack."

"And you're suddenly an experience tactician." The king grit his teeth.

"No, but I've-"

"Then don't involve yourself in matters that don't concern you!"

"Oh for the love of... Do you have experience with this kingdom beyond the few troops they've sent? No? I didn't think so? I was born and raised in that kingdom, I've lived through their wars, and they're always warring with someone. Just because I'm not raised warrior doesn't mean I don't know shit about wars." With every word she stepped closer to the gerudo king, until they were nearly face to face, him bent over to stare her in the eyes. The wood under his hand crushed in his grip.

"You dare address me like a common man?!"

"I address you the same way you address me. Respect is earned."

"I AM A KING. You should bow down before me!" Nabooru stepped away from the rail, more than a little worried about what her king would do to Aria.

"I bow before no pig!" Perhaps, not the wisest of words but people say stupid things when they're angry.

He was livid, but he made no move to strike her. His hands were seeping with blood from the wood embedded in it. Nabooru grabbed Aria and shoved her out of the ring in the direction of the stables, far away from the king.

"That was not wise." Nabooru whispered.

In the distance, the air shook with the sound of Ganondorf yelling and the thud of his hand slamming into the ground.

"I would recommend staying away from him for a few weeks.. or months. Let's just.. uhh I'll be training you from now on. Aveil or myself. Magic can wait a while. Today… I'll send Faruin up to you with dinner. Just...hide in the stables for a while, if you hear him coming...hide in a stall. I'll try to deter him." Nabooru left her in the stables.

Aria leaned her head against a stall door, trying to calm her pounding heart. She could hear distorted yelling outside. Silently she crept to Titan's stall. She entered the stall and let the tension and frustration drain out of her, burying her face in the stallion's mane and crying. It wasn't very pretty or even warrior-ly, but it helped.

When her sobbing died down, she checked Titan's leg over, glad to see it was progressing better than it probably should have been. Whatever the horse master was doing, it was working. She groomed him over before walking down the aisle and checking on the dark horse. Sure, she'd been told it was Ganondorf's horse, but she couldn't begrudge the horse for being owned by such an...unfortunate person.

The large stallion greeted her enthusiastically, if not a bit rudely, shoving his nose against her chest. She pushed his head away and reached for a brush. Knowing he was the king's horse, the stallion had probably gotten away with all sorts of bad behavior and established himself as dominant over all the others with the exception of Ganondorf. She had no intention of letting the black war horse walk over her.

"That's right, you don't push yourself on me. I come to you with relief for that itch." She spoke softly, brushing the itch away and then moving into the stall to groom the rest of him. It must've been a few days since the stallion had been groomed or perhaps even let out to go on a run. Aria groomed him until he shone and re-braided the mane, in a macrame braid instead of loose plaits.

Once that was done, she glanced outside the stable for any sign of Ganondorf. He didn't seem to be around at all. The training ring where they'd practiced had a broken fence and the once firm ground now had a crater in it. The wood was an easy fix, the energy malleable in her hands. The crater was a harder fix. Making sand into stone wasn't impossible, but the energy it took for her to fix it caused such an intense energy drain and dizzy spell that she found herself on the ground, leaning against the fence.

It took her a good while to get to her bedroom, her energy was just drained. She had used too much magic, too much energy training, and it forced her to take breathers against the wall. No one was really around to help her either. Later, she found out it was because Nabooru and King Ganondorf had been sparring to ease off his anger.


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days set up how the next four months played out. Aria would wake up early, grab a bit of breakfast before the king showed up and head out to the stables. The gerudos that normally worked the stables didn't mind the extra help, in fact they welcomed it when it came to the black stallion's stall. Aria was sure by now that Ganondorf had heard of her being able to handle his horse, but he hadn't sought her out. She rarely saw him at all most days, she assumed it was because he was too busy with his war. When she did see him, it was usually in passing. She'd catch him out of the corner of her eye and it seemed he would do the same. Once in a while he would turn ever so slightly towards her, but she would disappear around the corner or near a few gerudos walking by.

After working the stable she'd head to the training ring to work with Faruin and Aveil. She had only to ask Aveil if Faruin could train with her, giving Faruin better chances at the competition coming up. Warriors went out into the desert, and every time they came back a few more girls were gone. Training took up the majority of their days. Every week, Aria would had more weights added to her boots. Every day she'd practice her magic with Faruin as her temporary 'dummy'. Aveil taught her hand to hand combat, fighting with staves, glaives, broadswords, short swords, rapier, archery, cutlass, daggers, anything and everything they could think of.

Once Titan had healed up, Aria spent the time after the on ground lessons, being trained by Aveil in mounted archery. She was no where near as good as Aveil, or the other riders who had been doing it for years but with each passing day she was getting better.

Once mounted archery was done with, Titan cooled down, groomed, and put in the stall for the night, Aria usually took a bath, grabbed a quick bite of dinner and passed out. Some days she skipped dinner altogether, it just depended upon how much energy she expended in the ring.

It was near the end of one of those average days, that Aria decided to switch it up a bit, take a bath before dinner. A routine was nice, but sometimes a girl just needed time to relax. The bathing room was empty, most everyone already at dinner or still finishing up the last of their chores.

Aria sunk into the steaming water by the edge of the pool, sighing as it began to ease the knots out of her back and shoulders. So distracted was she, that she didn't even hear the padding of feet, nor the sound of clothing being set to the side.

The rippling water notified her too late of another bather. Aria sat up, rubbing the water of her eyes, ready to greet her fellow gerudo only to freeze. Before her was Ganondorf, water dripping off his front, red hair, crimson from the water running through it. Her eyes had a mind of their own, following down his muscled chest, past his belly button to the happy trail, and then she quickly turned around.

"I.. I uhh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"You were right." His voice sent a heated shiver down her spine.

"Right?"

"Your strategy on this war. They are just sending in troops, whittling down our numbers." The water behind her moved and she dared a glance behind back straightened as the muscled chest of the king was hardly a few inches behind her.

"Ah.. Night Blooming Cereus, a good choice if you were interested in catching another's attention." A well toned arm reached past her and grabbed the bottle of soap.

"What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious? To take a peaceful bath, just like you."

"You could have come any other time."

"... Are you frightened of me?"

"No."

"So sure of that answer." His hand slid through her locks.

"W-what are you-?"

"Bathing." Something cold hit the top of her head, but didn't last long as his hands kneaded it through her hair. His fingernails scraped across her scalp, tugging her closer through the water. She leaned her head back, into his touch.

"You've done this before."

"I've had over twenty older sisters. The past four months have been kind to you."

"I guess that makes you an _expert_ on women then." She ignored his other statement.

"Not at all." He tugged her hair causing her to hiss in pain. "Not all women are the same, though my sisters and tribe mates often share the same interests. Would you consider me an expert on yourself?"

"Not a chance."

"Good." Carefully he dipped her backwards, washing the soap from her hair. "How long were you an apprentice to your former mentor.?"

"Oh, about two days."

"Two da-... You are still my apprentice. I meant the mentor before you came here."

"Three years. We usually moved about depending on the needs of the court and the king. We worked more on alchemy and ugnn…" She couldn't hold back the soft moan as the king massaged soap into her tense shoulder.

"Heh.. go on." His chuckle rippled through her body, and she closed her eyes.

"It was just alchemy, pointless potions, magic for show. I learned more about how the king moved his troops and his crap tactics in war than actual ma- stop!" Aria pulled away from him.

Ganondorf raised both his hands in mock surrender. "As you wish. So, how would you handle this situation I'm in?" The king grabbed a handful of shampoo and began rubbing it in his hair as if his hands hadn't just skimmed across her sides, up her stomach, across her ribs, just below her breast.

"I… would let them wander the desert. Set up traps, hide any sign of life. They don't know where they're going, so the desert will just take them."

"And if they get close?" Aria froze as he stepped closer, his body flush against hers. Heat pooled in her abdomen and for a moment she forgot how to breathe.

"Fight them off, full force. They won't expect it, and if there aren't any survivors to tell the location then they'll just keep getting lost in desert. You just have to send a group out to make sure there aren't any stragglers."

"Hmm. I will… take this into consideration." He turned away from her to dunk his head in the water. During that time she rinsed off the soap and pulled herself out of the pool.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get dressed and get some food." She caught his gaze. "Stop staring! That.. it's not.. it's not appropriate!"

"Turnabout is fair play, little firefly." He still turned his back to her, giving her the privacy she demanded.

"Ugh!" She sent a small wave of water his way as she hurriedly dried off, got dressed, and rushed out of the room. His laughter followed her down the hallway.

"Pig." She growled under her breath, heading for dinner.

The next day she was awoken by a knock on the door. Odd. Usually Aveil or Faruin just barged in. Aria glanced outside her window. The sun was just hinting at lighting the horizon, the sand bathed a pastel red.

Aria reluctantly slid out of the covers and began dressing for the day.

"Come in." She called right after she'd tossed a shirt on and was wiggling into the skin-tight black stretchy pants.

"Oh don't get dressed on my account." Aria's head jerked up and she stared at her visitor in shock.

"We'll be practicing with water today."

"Hold on. I thought you weren't mentoring me anymore after the last time."

"I..have been busy with the war. I never said I released you from being my apprentice."

"You make it sound like I'm under a contract or an obligation. Is that what you think this is? That I'm an apprentice for servitude or -"

"No. What a foolish thought. I am obligated to train you in replacement of my mothers. If you don't want it, tell me and it will cease." His expression gave away nothing.

"Do you even want to train me? "

He smirked.

"A little. Your… attempts are amusing."

"Amusing? If you don't want to train me, then don't."

"... Meet me in the bathing room after breakfast. Be prepared to get wet." He turned on his heel, leaving behind a very confused Aria.

When she entered the bathing room no one was around. Aria slipped off her outer clothes, leaving herself in nothing but a band and undergarments.

"A bit overdressed aren't we?" She hadn't even heard the door open or close.

"I'd like to keep a bit of my dignity. Thank you."

"As you wish. I'm sure you've brought extra with you."

Shit. She hadn't.

The king waded into the water after removing his pants. Slowly Aria slid into the water, saddened that it was lukewarm at best.

"Close your eyes."

"Oh? Uncomfortable with m-"

"I said, close your eyes. If I were uncomfortable with you seeing my undressed self I wouldn't have joined you yesterday."

Aria blushed, and all too willingly did as he said.

"I want you to focus on what you feel around you. Do you feel my position in the water? Turn towards me. Keep your eyes closed."

She did as she was told, trying to decipher the direction that the water was coming from as it lapped and rippled around her ribs. Slowly, she turned towards her left. It was actually rather difficult as he hardly moved and the water moved with her making the process all the more confusing.

"Close enough. Open your eyes." He stood a little more to the right than she had felt. "Now, I want you to attack me. Try to hit me using the element. I'll have my eyes closed, and then you'll do the same." He closed his eyes.

Aria took a spare moment to look him over, her mouth going dry. She would later blame it on trying to decipher his weak spots before she attacked, as she took in the view of all of him. The water came at just a hint below his waist, leaving little to the imagination as the ripples distorted the view. What she could see sent a warmth straight to her loins. He wasn't quite as furry as she expected him to be, though his hair, when let loose like it was now, was rather long. He also still had that ridiculously ornate 'crown' on.

What really caught her attention was the sheer amount of scars littered around his skin. King, though he was, he clearly had been in his fair share of scuffles. It was more than just the scars one gets from training, several larger scars were on places that you could only get if someone aimed to kill you. Aria clenched her fist, trying to ignore the intruding urge to run her hand over those paled scars.

"You're taking your sweet time. Do I need to remind you how to manipulate water?"

"N-no!" She blushed, though he couldn't see. Carefully she formed a ball of water in her hand and threw it at him. Water came rushing over his arm, like an armguard, and the ball she'd thrown sprinkled the surface of the pool as it shattered into little raindrops.

"Again."

She sent a volley of balls at him this time, and he rose his arm up blocking every single one.

"Try harder."

Aria threw more orbs of water, each one evaded, blocked, or caught. As a last resort she twirled in the water, sending a small wave of ripples in his direction, before cutting her hand through the water at him. The water rose in a line and darted at him.

He still evaded it, but this time he opened his eyes.

"Better, much better. I expected no less from you. Now that you've warmed up a bit. You will do as I did. Close your eyes and evade my attacks. Water is a valuable resource. You should know how to fight and defend yourself with every weapon at your disposal."

Nodding, Aria closed her eyes. With her eyes closed, her main sense switched to sound and feeling. The first ball of water came by complete surprise, slamming into her chest.

"Concentrate. Or you shall end up a very soaked apprentice."

A very soaked apprentice indeed. The first time she successfully blocked a ball of water, it was a fluke and the next one had hit her full on in the face, leaving her sputtering and looking for revenge. Forgetting herself, she sent a wave of water back at her mentor, dousing him in water. Then it was an all out war. Eyes opened now, they sent ball and wave after each other, the water being both shield and weapon.

One ball in particular kept getting caught and thrown back and forth between the two until it finally hit Aria on the bosom.

"Cheap shot!" She called at him.

"Cheap? I'll show you cheap!" He sent a wave and several volleys of balls her way. Quick thinking she brought up a circular shield of water surrounding her. It distorted her view as the wave and balls crashed over it, but still held up. She laughed, hands on her hips.

A pair of hands came up around her waist. Aria gasped, just before she was dunked under the water. The arms still holding her pulled her up and against a firm chest.

"Now that's what I call cheating!" She laughed, placing one hand on the Gerudo King's chest as he laughed with her, equally soaked to the bone. Their laughter slowly dwindled as they grinned at one another. The euphoria of their play was fading, to be replaced by something dangerous and as searing as the desert outside. A calloused hand slowly came up, thumb brushing across her cheek and she leaned into the gentle touch. For a senseless moment Aria closed her eyes as Ganondorf's face bent towards her own. His warm breath caressed her face before his lips caught her own in a gentle kiss, testing the waters.

Reality hit her like the same electricity that came from the his lips on hers, and slowly she pushed them apart, using her hand on his chest on leverage. He allowed it. a hand resting on her bare hip.

"I have to go." Aria pulled away from him, not allowing herself the time to elaborate before she was dressed, dry clothes over sopping wet underclothes, and she closed the door behind her. Right as she reached the corner of the hallway she heard the recognizable sound of fist hitting stone.

In the heat of the summer day her clothes dried very quickly. Aveil and Faruin were waiting for her at the training ring already in nothing but their pants.

"W.. where's your shirts?"

"It's too hot, why are you wearing all that clothing, aren't you just dying?"

"Well, yeah, but but… "

"But what? It's hot. There's no need for anything but pants. Goddess, not even underwear at this point."

"But.. everyone might stare."

"At what, your tits? We've all got them. You'll feel better for it."

"I.. I need to get used to the idea first."

"Suit yourself. You ready?"

"Yeah."

It took only half of the lesson for Aria to join the shirtless tradition. The shirt she was wearing got thrown to the side of the ring where the rest of their gear lay. Lessons were shorter as the sun bore down on them. Afterwards, Aria checked on the horses before heading to lunch.

It wasn't any cooler inside. The Gerudo spread themselves farther from each other on the tables, to not crowd each other with body heat.

Aria grabbed a few cushions from the table and hid herself in a corner to eat. Nabooru, Faruin, and Aveil followed suit with their own cushions.

"Why didn't we think of this before. Oh hey, you do magic right?"

"Yeah….?"

"So.. you could freeze the room?"

"No. I can't freeze the room. I don't have the energy for it. The more training you do, the more energy you use. It takes time to recharge."

"Damn." Nabooru huffed, laying back on her cushion.

"I can however…" Aria focused on the cushions they laid upon and a small sheen of ice covered them. It was a temporary solution as the ice was quick to melt. She did the same for their small bowl of cactus fruit. The spicy noodles and stringy meat they had for lunch was better warm than cold, but the fruit could handle a hint of icing.

"Oh cold cold, but so good."

"It's official. We're keeping you."

"Yep, never leaving this spot so long as you keep doing what you're doing."

Aria sighed, leaning back in her pillowy corner. Her eyes wandered over the room as she took her time eating. The feeling of someone watching her brought her from the conversation in their corner, her eyes scanning the faces of Gerudo until they landed on the one face at the near-empty king's table.

He was clearly watching her, his eyes never leaving her face even as she returned to the conversation at hand and popped a cold fruit in her mouth. She watched him from her peripherals for a good while before turning a bit, giving him her attention. He curled one finger inwards, slowly.

Aria shook her head and gave him the same "come here" motion. She wasn't going to get up and walk through a mass of gerudo just so he could tell her they had lessons tomorrow or something.

"Did you just…?" Faruin's voice pulled Aria away from watching the king's expression.

"Hmm?"

"Did you seriously just ignore the king's summon and turn it back on him?"

"What's up, I wasn't paying attention?" Nabooru and Aveil put their conversation about archery on hold.

"The king, he quirked his finger at Aria and she just.. returned the motion. You don't just say no to the king."

"You make it sound like it's the end of the world."

"It could be the end of yours if he-" Faruin clamped her mouth shut as a shadow loomed over them. Aria shifted so she could look up at the figure of the king. A hush had fallen over the dining hall.

"Care to join us?" Aria motioned to the cushions around them. Nabooru glanced between the two with curious eyes.

"I would have prefered the privacy at my table."

Taking the hint, the gerudo deserted their cushions and moved to the main tables, Aveil mouthing 'good luck'. The gerudo king stole the spot closest to her in the shadow, the heat of his body radiating from him.

"Is there something you want?"

"Can't a mentor spend time with his apprentice?" Ganondorf took a thawed fruit from the plate and popped it into his mouth.

"What was the point of shooing away the others if all you wanted to do was spent time with me?"

"I didn't 'shoo' them. They chose to leave."

"Oh, don't play dense. You know exactly what you did."

"Is this how you treat your king, who so kindly graced you with his regal presence?"

"No, this is how I treat my mentor when he's being ridiculous. What is the point of joining company if you get rid of more than half of it?"

"Maybe I wanted to speak to you alone."

"You could have always asked me after dinner or pulled me aside."

"I tried to pull you aside."

"Alright, so what do you want?"

"A thriving place for my people, peace, and fair winds." A slight smirk graced his lips.

"Fair enough. So make it happen."

"Make it happen she says. So demanding, student of mine. How do you suggest I make it happen? We're in the middle of a harsh desert, if you hadn't noticed. Need I find a healer for your poor eyes?"

"Mock me all you want, but make it happen. You have more neighbors than the kingdom trying to invade. Build a trade. You must have something to trade. Skills, spices-"

"Sand. We're rich in sand."

"You are rich in magic."

"Hylians look down on magic. It's taboo to them. A waste of skill."

"Where do Hylians come in this?"

"They're our neighboring kingdom."

"Ganondorf-"

The chatter surrounding them hushed again. Gerudos looked over their shoulders in their direction. The king clenched his fist, before sitting more upright from his rather relaxed position.

"Address me properly, Apprentice."

"I… of course, my liege." She bowed her head ever so slightly. A few more moments of quiet before the soft chatter resumed.

"You were saying?"

Aria shifted uncomfortably. It was as if getting close to him, being personal was off-limits, like he wasn't allowed friends. It...bothered her.

"I was saying, you have immense power. You're powerful enough to create a dozen oasi if you chose to. Why not do so? Why not start cultivating the desert."

"Apprentice, you are mistaken."

"What-"

"You know the harshness of the desert. You know how the winds tear apart anything we've done the day before. It is an endless cycle of death. What do you expect to grow? My abilities are not all encompassing, despite how much power I have. Do you feel it?"

Aria froze as the claustrophobic feeling that she recognized as his power began pressing down on her again. She gasped for air, and stared at his energy, his spark as it wove around her. It slowed down considerably, giving her the chance to really look at it. It wasn't knotwork like her own, but words. Tightly written script chained together. She could see a single word for plant, several for fire, a few water, and more encompassing shadows and darkness. Even power was in there, just brute power, but not… life. He was lacking two key elements, elements that could save them all. He pulled away from her as realization dawned on her face, his own darkening in what she could only guess was anger.

"Lessons will be in the training room tomorrow." He stood and left, abruptly while she was still reeling from shock.

Nabooru, Aveil, and Faruin were slow to return.

"Is everything alright?" Aveil touched her shoulder and Aria leaned against her friend, taking what comfort she could. She buried her face in the gerudo's neck, tears wetting Aveil's skin. Tears meant for a king who could not see beyond the darkness etched in his very being.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the day passed by like a gust of wind over sand. Aria visited the stables to give Titan a last treat before she would head to bed. The last stall where normally stood the black horse of the king was empty, as was the rack that held the stallion's tack. She spent that night in Aveil's room, curled into the older woman's side as a cold gale swept across the land, their breath hanging in the air.

After breakfast, on the next day, Aria was greeted by Koume and Kotake in the training room.

"Where's G- the king?" Aria glanced around confused. She didn't see his energy anywhere nearby, inside or outside the compound.

The witches looked at each other with raised eyebrows and a rather 'know-it-all' look on their faces that only confused Aria further.

"He has some business to take care of in the spirit temple. He was only your temporary mentor while we were away."

"Why, did you enjoy your time training under him?"

"Prefer him now?"

"No, no of course not. it was just confusing that he wouldn't inform me beforehand."

"Mmm.. Let's get down to training!"

"Fire!"

"No no no, Ice."

"Fire!"

"Ice!"

"Actually, could we work on plant life today? I know I'm not very skilled in it, but I would like to be better."

"I suppose working on something you're not good at would be wise."

"But, why not work on something you're very talented with? Like fire!"

"I just.. I feel like I need to work on growing and manipulating plants."

"Very well." Kotake sniffed, her mouth a tight line.

"You know the basics, so why don't we start with seeing how well you can manipulate a plant into growing in an unnatural setting. Here, this is a fruit seed that grows only in the most shaded and dampest of soils. Grow it in the sand."

"But.. what about water?"

"You'll have to figure that out on your own."

"Oh come now, Kotake, we can give her a hint."

"No. She needs to use her own head. She won't be spoon-fed all the answers."

"... Fine." Koume crossed her arms and sat back on her broom.

Aria paused a moment staring down at the seed. It was a rather plain thing, the case a hard wrinkly brown. She could understand how it could easily blend in the dark soil, keeping it safe from all sorts of critters that would want to eat it, but she couldn't really see a way to convince it to grow in such dry conditions. She could see the spark in it, easily enough. It was brimming with life. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it to grow. She focused on its energy and encouraged it to sprout, to reach for the sunlight, but it was.. she could only call it stubborn. Like a certain Gerudo.

Aria touched the seed to her mouth, pulling and expanding some of the moisture her lips had left on the casing. Engulfing the seed with water made it shrink back upon itself, and she quickly pulled back most of the water, letting it fall into the sand below her. She put the seed in the wet sand and tried to will the seed to grow, but the sand lacked significantly in nutrients.

Grumbling, Aria spent the next five hours expending her energy trying to get the damned thing to grow. She couldn't just force the seed to grow, nor could she get the sand to bear more nutrients. The seed couldn't tell her what it wanted or needed, and it left her at a loss.

"Well, she had the right idea. Maybe the seed is a dud." Kotake crossed her arms staring down at their apprentice who was desperately trying to get the seed to grow.

"It's not, there's still life in it."

"Dearie, even the recently deceased have a bit of life left over in them, that's just the way of things. Life perseveres. It doesn't mean it will grow. That seed is so old, it just might not grow."

" We'll try again tomorrow, with a different seed, something more adapted to the desert. Just leave the seed there, and go get something to eat. You've earned it." Koume spoke softly, hovering above.

"Can I take it with me?"

Kotake grimaced, sending Koume a look. It wasn't like there would be any harm in her taking the seed. If it was old and mostly dead anyways it wasn't likely their young apprentice would accidentally be strangling any other gerudo with its vines.

"Of course."

"Thank you. Oh.. umm, what seed is it anyways? What plant does it grow into."

"Back when the desert was a valley, before it was cursed by the sun and the Hylians, there used to be this large forest, bordering between our lands and Hyrule. Our border was the river, which has long since carved a deep crevice in the land. This tree, used to grow next to that river, it used to be as thick as the trees in the Kokiri Forest, protecting the valley from the sun and the dry winds that ravage the desert to this day. "

"So what does it look like?"

At that Koume and Kotake shrugged in unison, and left Aria to her own devices. She pocketed the seed, and headed towards the bathing chamber. There was hardly anyone there at that time, so bathing ended up being more business than relaxing. Nabooru was missing as well, Aria noticed when she came into the dining hall for lunch. The main table was completely empty. Aria stared at the seed for most of her lunch, trying to figure out what made it tick. It's life energy was constant, not wavering any more or less than normal, as if the seed itself were stuck in time.

"You're oddly quiet today." Aveil snuck up on Aria, and she jumped- almost dropping the seed on the platter. "What's that?"

"A seed, I haven't been able to make it grow."

"Huh. You've tried watering it, keeping in in the soil and cool?"

"Cool?" Aria questioned.

"You know, some seeds like cold damp places to grow, sometimes very dark. The desert isn't great for that."

"Huh.." Aria stared at the seed again, as if it would give her a response to this new insight, but it was just a seed.

"Come on, let's give your mind something fresh to focus on." Aveil grabbed her hand, dragging Aria outside to the training grounds.

"I know Nabooru isn't here right now, but we can still get some good training in." Aveil offered, tossing Aria a dagger. Aria caught it, but not before it made a sharp cut on the palm of her hand. She winced, it was her own fault for not having fast enough reflexes. That wasn't to say she wasn't getting faster, but it still hurt when she caught it wrong, her pride stinging more than the cut.

"Where's Nabooru and Faruin?" Aria asked as they practiced, racing around the arena trying to get a hit on one another. Aveil had stopped being solely defensive with Aria a little over a month ago, and they'd been working on offensive against offensive fighting.

"King Ganondorf took them out on a scouting mission. They probably won't be back for several months, but they should be back before the tournament. Nabooru might return before then, just to help set up and make sure everyone qualifies. Thinking about entering?"

"I.. I'm not sure."

"You should, it'd be good experience. I'm sure with a few more months of training you could make it to the semi-finals!"

"How, everyone else here has had years of training!"

"Yeah, but we've all been trained basically the same way. You're different. You have previous experience, different knowledge, and magic. Magic is allowed in the semi-finals."

"I'll think on it."

"Alright, but I'm still going to be training you for it."

"But.."

"No buts. You're getting the training."

That month was a pain and a half, as each day Aria was tested to her limits. She spent the mornings training with Koume and Kotake, still focused on trying to get the seed to grow. Her evenings were spent shirtless, training with Aveil until sunset, where she spent time with Titan, working on mounted archery, or just laying in the hay while the stallion grazed. That wasn't counting her new lessons of learning and living the various customs the gerudo had. Dancing, for one. Aveil told her it would help her advance in her fighting, so Aria found herself taking beginning dance classes with many of the younger Gerudo. The children loved her, maybe it was that an adult was just beginning to learn the dance like they were, or maybe it was because Aria spent time after class showing them small tricks with magic. Koume and Kotake might've thought she was abusing her powers, but what was the point of having magic if she couldn't make others happy with it? It wasn't hurting anyone, except her if she tried too hard.

It was a long month in the magic aspect, as she switched from forcing the seed to grow, to changing the soil so that it was compatible to the seed. It didn't need much changing, she found out after the second week of trying, as it wasn't the sand she wanted- but the once-enriched soil hidden a few feet beneath the sand. It was late in the night that she'd made the discovery that changed the entire game for her. Aria had been sitting on her bed, messing around with fire, as the the nights in the Gerudo Valley were freezing, and the only way to stay warm was to have a lot of covers, which she had so little of, sleep with another person, or to start a small fire in your own room. Most people chose to sleep with others, but Aria hadn't curled up with Aveil that night. She chose to work with mastering her fire, the heat of the flames and using magic keeping her warm. A large gust of wind had blown through the window, feeding the fire and making it jump. A spark of it had landed on the hard brown seed. Aria gasped, pulling back the flame, but the damage was done.

The hard brown case had broken open.

Concentrating, she looked at it's spark, to see if it was unsalvageable, feeling like someone just chucked a stone in her gut. Instead, she was surprised to the spark had grown, as if she'd just broken open a seal, and it was a hungry spark. Carefully, she gave it water from the flask on her bedside table. It arched into the water, but shrunk back upon direct contact. Carefully, Aria set the seed inside the enriched soil she had sitting in a pot on the table. She willed it to grow, carefully pouring water into the soil until it was mostly damp- but not swimming in liquid. A small sprout curled forward from the seed, but Aria couldn't make it thrive as rapidly as the desert vine had.

She sighed, setting it to the side for the night. The moment the cold of the room hit it, the seed's spark seemed to wither a bit. Aria cursed, lit a candle and brought it close to the potted plant. It was an odd idea, that a plant that enjoyed moisture so much was born from fire and disliked the freezing nights of the desert.

Still, it was a start, much better than what she'd had before.

At the end of the month, Aveil slid up next to her, draping an arm around Aria's shoulder.

"So, tomorrow we're going to Hyrule. Do you wanna come with?"

"What's in Hyrule?"

Aviel gave Aria a lecherous grin, leaning closer. "How exactly do you think the Gerudo keep growing?"

"The King?"

"No! Gosh, no! Sometimes, every once in awhile he'll find a woman he likes and he's not related to, but no." Aveil cackled as Aria's cheeks heated up.

"Wait, so besides him, where?"

"Hyrulian men. The gerudo blood is so strong in us that we only birth more gerudo women, except once every one hundred or so years, where a king is born."

"So, Ganond-" Aria paused, going to correct herself with 'King'.

"You can say his name without the King, Lord, or "His most majestical being when he's not around."

"Alright, so Ganondorf was just given the throne because he's a male Gerudo? That's a little sp-"

"He earned the right. He wasn't given anything, except intensive training since he was a young child. Our kings aren't spoon-fed babies like the hylian princess. Ganondorf had many hard trials, you've been out on the desert with your horse, he had no horse. He had a knife and the clothes on his back."

"And extensive knowledge of the desert"

"Well, yes, that goes without saying- but he was just a child at the time. He was to travel to the Spirit Temple in seek of spiritual guidance at the age of 10. He came back changed. It's a long hard journey, body and soul, not unlike your own. "

"Changed? How changed?"

"A warrior. He was… older in a way, as if he'd seen many horrors of the world, of years before him. I.. I do not claim to know what he saw, what the Goddess of the Sand deemed for him to see, I doubt it was as pleasant as a cool breeze on a hot day."

"Oh." Aria sat there in silence for a while, questions racing through her mind, questions that only the King could answer.

"Anyways. You've been here for severals months, and we were wondering, would you like to join us on the trip to Hyrule?"

"I.. I'm not sure I'd be the best of company in um.. that type of situation." Aria blushed, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh.. OH! Well, then it'll be a treat to take you. Don't worry, we'll show you how to have a good time. Not all of us are going to be going in for the opportunity to increase ranks, there's plenty to do in Hyrule."

"Sure, when do we leave."

"Tomorrow, bright and early. We'll ride out before dawn so we get a full few days, maybe a week if we're lucky."

"What should I bring?"

"Oh you know, a few pouches, in case you feel like pickpocketing, daggers, bow and arrow, maybe a sword, something for hunting, something for protection, your horse, traveling clothes, traveling gear- like your flask, just common sense things. Oh and umm, don't hide your ears."

"My ears?"

"Yeah, Hylians have pointed ears. They're more likely to trust you if you show them. Gerudo aren't well looked upon by Hylians, not after years of war and strife."

"I haven't been told a lot about the issues between Hyrule and Gerudo. Is it like… my old country, where Hyrule just wants to take over anything and everything within its reaches?"

" Not exactly. Hyrule has expanded over the years, blessed some would say, but that doesn't mean they're without fault. They've got this huge power hidden away that they use to force their land to be fertile, but it comes as a price. It's not.. a proven fact, but I'm sure that that power they abuse sucks up the magic and resources from outside turning it into wastelands like the desert."

"But… the desert can grow.."

"Life survives, of course, but.. our people suffer. I've seen ancient carvings showing the Gerudo thriving, forests, lakes, even a few meadows at one point- but mostly forest."

"Ancient? How old?"

"I'm not sure, older than Koume and Kotake for certain."

"What about the Sand Goddess? Doesn't she protect you?"

"The Sand Goddess protects us as she can, but if the power the Hylians hold on to is truly that powerful and is draining the magic from her and the land she protects, then…" Aveil faltered for a moment, conflict rising in her golden eyes. "Then… if she weren't protecting us, the Gerudos would already be extinct, and the desert would have no life left in it at all, no plants, no oasi, nothing but hardened cracked ground and the vast sand dunes." Aveil stared down in her lap. "They say it's because their goddesses favor them, that it's somehow the wills of their three goddesses that we aren't thriving, but… what goddess would be so cruel as to destine an entire race to extinction in a slow, long, torturous way? Even monsters aren't that evil."

"I… I'm sorry? "

"It's not something you can be sorry for. You don't even speak of the culture of your old country."

"I wasn't really a part of it honestly, there is a belief in three gods, but I never really spent time in the temples. Master Nicar had more important things to do than worship."

"Your old master.. what did he look like? What was he like? You never really talk about him."

'I.. he was.. He was a handsome man, dark brown eyes, hair as black as coal. He was so skilled in manipulation, transmutation. He could change sand into flowers, and he had such soft hands."

"Soft hand huh? Not a warrior?"

"No. He was.. magic, he was flesh, blood, bone, and wind all wrapped in one being. He was so sweet when he wanted to be too."

"Sweet, sounds like you had a thing for him, huh, huhhhh?" Aveil nudged Aria in the ribs, teasingly.

"I.. no! No! He was my master, my teacher, that's.. that's extremely looked down upon. It would've made him biased towards me and and.."

"Looked down upon? Biased? It should've made him work you harder- to be the best you can be. That's what people who love you should strive for. Yes, you don't want your loved ones to be hurt, but you should want for them to know how to protect themselves, to be their best. "

"That's not how they see it."

"That's… odd."

They spoke no further on the subject, instead Aveil began pulling out items for Aria to bring with her, helping her pack well past sunset. That night as Aria laid in Aveil's arms she thought on the missing King, wondering of the trials he faced in the desert, what he saw in the temple that changed him so.

She dreamt of a bright triangle surrounded in fire, and for some reason it hurt- as though something was ripping her soul from her and leaving her bare; and empty shell.


	8. Chapter 8

The group of Gerudo and Aria left early in the morning, before the light of the sun touched the sky. It was a quiet affair, no more than 10 women on their horses. They traveled across the desert for most of the day, hardly speaking as the sun beat down upon them and the sand sizzled from beneath them. The gerudo's horses were well built for this type of terrain, robust and much lighter than Titan was, They had arched thick necks, robust hindquarters and shoulders, and their back and legs were rather thin and long. Their heads were slightly concave and rather petite, colors varying between chestnuts, lighter bays, dun, buckskin, and even a bright palomino. They didn't stop riding the entire day, and well into the night until they came upon a small oasis with two trees shriveling under the intense rays of the sun of early the enxt morning.. Aria scooped some water into her palm, willing it larger, increasing the amount and re-filling everyone's canteens without drawing much more water from the drying up oasis. She poured more water into the oasis, until Aveil stopped her- telling her to save her energy for the rest of the ride. Reluctantly she did so, but not before plucking a small bagful of the palm tree's seeds. They left the oasis, Aria glancing back at the sad looking pool of water, wishing there was something more she could do.

After riding through a canyon for the entirety of the second day, as the sun began to sink beneath the horizon the gerudos reached a large crack in the ground and a broken bridge.

"Don't lean over too far, or you'll fall off. I wouldn't want to have to go fishing for you" Aveil joked as Aria stared into the ground's crevice, seeing how far beneath the bridge lay a swiftly flowing river and the rushing sounds of the water and nearby waterfalls filled the air.

"Does this mean we have to go back?"

"Of course not. That's what the horses are for." Aveil patted her dun mare's neck. Aria glance down at Titan. He much heavier than any of the mares and Aria hadn't had much experience in jumping him before. She already knew he was slower than the gerudo's smaller horses.

"Don't worry about it." As if reading her mind, Aveil nudged Aria. "I'm sure your horse can make it over the bridge. Trust your horse- he hasn't let you down yet."

Nodding, Aria pulled back, away from the edge. The gerudo backed away from the bridge a good ways away, before they turned their horses and sped up to take their turns jumping across the broken bridge. Aria was third behind Aveil, Titan tucking his legs up under him and stretching as they made the jump. Aria held on tightly. The stallion gave a half stumble as they landed on the hot stone on the other side, but he kept upright, striding up the stairs and snorting when they stopped a few feet away from the crevice.

"See, I told you he could do it." Aveil patted her shoulder, before they moved forward, officially in the land of Hryule as the land slowly transformed from the barren wasteland to a lush green field. They'd had to cross a large creek, before they truly reached the vast field. They spent the night in that field, a few girls taking shifts to keep an eye out for monsters that could try to attack them at night. The next morning as the sun rose into the sky, Aria stared in awe at her surroundings. After almost a year of living with the Gerudo in the harsh desert, so much greenery was a wonder to see. Flowers and trees dotted the rolling hillsides, creeks branched across the country side. In this distance was a large knoll that lead up to what looked like a farm of sorts. Even farther in the distance, was the faded view of a large castle, and behind it was a tall outline of a mountain, with a hoop of smoke around it's dark peak.

"Welcome to Hyrule." With a whoop, the gerudos urged their horses onwards, towards the nearest village. Titan took off after them, the heavier horse quite a bit slower, but also no putting as much effort. It wasn't a flat run, racing up and over hills.

It was night when they came upon the first village. It was small and most of them had no candles flickering in the darkness. They were tired, their horses were tired, but they didn't stop at this village- instead they left it and camped a few miles away from the village. Aria had no complaints, remembering the words of how Aveil was so certain the Hylians wouldn't accept them.

Aveil's words were proven to her the next sunset, when they reached another village, much closer to the castle in the distance. The guards had watched them closely as they passed. From the corner of her eye, Aria noticed one guard step forward, hand on the hilt of his sword. She tensed up, catching the golden eyes of Aveil, but the guardsman's fellow held him back. Hardly anyone in the village would speak to them. They were ignored for the most part, even when they were looking for a tavern to stay in. They offered money, and were turned away. The one place that was vaguely willing to 'accept' them, wanted three times as much as it would cost for a Hylian, and one of their steeds. Of course, the Gerudo turned away from that place. The tavern owner, a chubby man with a dark mustache and balding head didn't seem to notice when his plump purse was several rupees short.

Two days later they reached the largest town in Hryule, only to be denied entrance to it. Tired of the rudeness and sleeping on the ground, Aria tugged off her shawl and glared at the guard.

"Why can't we enter."

"The city is closed to outsiders Ma'am." The guard gulped nervously, eyeing the women behind her who sat back on their horses. She watched as a caravan with several odd looking characters walking giant blue goats slip by with no interference from the guards. Aria snapped her fingers in his face, forcing his attention away from the gerudos on horseback and to her glaring green eyes.

"There are people entering and exiting. You are not stopping them. You aren't inspecting that caravan with all the goats and questionable figures."

"They are Hylians."

"So, because they aren't Hylians, a group of women can't enter the town - women who are looking for a warm meal and a soft bed."

"Yes Ma'am." The guard nervously swallowed again, taking a subtle step backwards. "I mean.. you may enter, as you are Hylian, but the gerudos who accompany you are not from this kingdom and so they may not enter."

"That seems rather unbeneficial to the kingdom, don't you think. Refusing to trade and deal business with another kingdom."

"The gerudo hardly have a kingdom. They're a bunch of thieves and desert rats." The guard sneered at the women behind Aria and she had to stay her hand from slapping him for his prejudice. "Anyways, it's not my rules that keep them from entering Hyrule Castle Town. The king has declared all outsiders are refused entry unless they are ambassadors. Seeing as none of them are that big bloke, they're not allowed in."

A giant boulder-looking creature passed by, it grunted as it walked and Aria was momentarily shocked.

"And that person?" She asked pointing.

'Him? Gorons are native to Hyrule, and are considered an ally. Gerudos aren't allies, and I highly doubt they ever will be. So please, take your.. acquaintances and leave. You may come back without them at any time." Disgusted, Aria turned away and they rode around the outskirts of the town.

Some time later, Aveil moved towards the center of their group to ride next to Aria. Aria glanced up, once more covered in her tattered red cloak.

"Don't worry, when we get to Kakariko village, we'll be accepted there. There aren't many guards, and the humans are much more friendly." Aria nodded numbly.

The next few days it took to get to Kakariko were mostly silent. They didn't hunt all that much, strangers to the land, but the monsters that dare attack them at night made decent meals- from the ones that were of flesh and blood. Aria had taken a seed from just about every different type of tree they came across, putting it in the same pouch that had the palm seeds. No one questioned her why she was doing it, they were just grateful that with Aria around it was easier to start the campfire and keep their water stocked up. The closer they got to Kakariko the more excited the ladies were. Aveil and the other chatted a lot of how many 'boyfriends' there were in the village. Aveil in particular had a guy whom she'd visited with several times. He was, to put it in her words "very skillful with his tongue".

Aria tried not to blush in response, but failed. The gerudo ladies had a good laugh at her expense. She didn't mind it so much.

Kakariko Village wasn't what she expected. It looked rather homely, people laughing and lazing about, chickens loose everywhere, a large windmill near the center of the town, and the further they went into town, the more Aria noticed the gorons who spent their time in town. There was apparently even a 'hot spring' somewhere further up ahead, more towards the Goron's home. The village wasn't half as big as the town next to the castle, but there were plenty of people there.

When the Gerudo entered the village, they weren't paid attention to, until the girls took off their cloaks and started flirting with the nearest group of men. Aria sat there awkwardly, more than a little nervous. They took their horses to a stable nearby. First things first, making sure their steeds were well taken care of, then paying for their rooms, all in the same large two-storied tavern.

"This is where the fun begins!" Aveil winked at Aria, before helping her get dressed.

"Are you sure I can't have a bit more coverage in, you know, this area?" Aria motioned at all of her torso and abdomen that was mostly bare.

"Of course not, just let me adjust these." Aveil grabbed Aria's 'shirt', if the revealing garment could truly be called such a thing, and pushed her breast to the side a bit, making them stand out a bit more. It was rather plain outfit, maroon in the torso, with pale white-sand pants.

"Trust me, you'll find a man tonight, have a great time, and tomorrow afternoon we'll start taking the trip back home. Who knows, maybe you'll find a couple of young studs." Aveil winked as they walked out of the room, arm in arm. There were several men in the tavern already, and the gerudo ladies had flocked to them. Some of them were apparently very familiar with each other, and were wasting no time becoming better acquainted.

Aria chuckled to herself, rubbing her mostly bare arm as men wolf whistled and flirted with them.

"Relax, have a seat. Bartend. Lon Lon Special." Aveil slid her an oddly pale drink that the bartender had set down. "Try it. You'll like it."

Aria took a sip. It was sweet, too sweet, but the alcohol was obvious enough to her. She shivered and took another sip.

"See, told you it's good. Sip it though, it's pretty strong stuff, and I wouldn't want you waking up next to one of them." Aveil motioned towards the carpenters boasting in the background. Aria nodded, laughing as she continued to take small sips from the drink.

She was on her third one when she saw him. He had been there for a while, sitting at the other end of the bar, but she hadn't really noticed him before. Perhaps it was because Aveil had just moved to go visit a man about a 'cuckoo'. He was taller than her, which didn't often say much, wore glasses, and had light orange-brown hair, that was parted to the side. He glanced her way and she gave him one of her best 'come hither' looks.

He gave in rather easily. No words were spoken between the two of them as she lead him away from the bar, back towards her room. She was nervous certainly, but during the ride to Kakariko the girls had given her plenty of advice on how to seduce a man, how to take control. Closing the door behind them, he managed to stutter out a "h-h-hello-oh. ohh…" before he saw her laying back on the bed, a hand running down her own curves. He spoke no more that night.

He was no master at making love, she decided, but he could get the job done. It was quick and he wasn't her ideal man. His body was slimmer when she prefered a man who could hold his own against her. She allowed him to flip her onto her back without short brown hair looked almost red in the candlelight, and for a moment she could have sworn his blue eyes were gold, but when she blinked as he thrusted into her- they were just a dark blue. She squeezed her eyes tight as she reached completion.

"Ga-aahh!" Her mind took over for her, imagining there were larger, strong arms wrapped around her, that the man above her wasn't who he actually was. He left a mess on her stomach and was out the door before she passed out on the bed.

Later that night Aveil visited her, helped her clean up the still slightly damp mess on her skin and the bed. She fell asleep wrapped in strong tanned arms that night, smiling. The next morning came too soon, golden light filtering in from behind the curtains, unbearable bright. Aria groaned, crawling out of the covers and packing up for the ride home.

"Huh… whatsabighurreh" Aveil asked, brushing her straight hair out of her face.

"It's the afternoon already."

"Shit. Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

Aveil groaned, dragging herself out of bed. Her knees made with the floor first. "Heh, guess I had quite a bit to drink last night." She shakily got up, her knees threatening to buckle for a while until she got her bearings.

"Yeah. Thankfully I didn't drink too much last night."

"I still can't believe that guy just 'll find you more next time. It'll be a real party."

"Eh. It could've been worse. He could've.. well.. I mean.. I'm just not ready to be a mother quite yet."

"Mmm. fair enough, besides you should go for a strong man, one with broad shoulders, a warrior." Aveil froze for a moment, a particular man coming to mind. "You know… King Ganondo-"

"Wait, what, no! He's.. he was my mentor, besides he's he's.." Aria trailed off, her cheeks heating up when she remembered just who she'd imagined last night.

"He's an available warrior who you could spend alone time with, and would sire extremely skilled gerudo children."

"He's your king!"

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean he can't have a lover or two."

"Aren't kings supposed to have queens, or princesses to make their wives? Wouldn't that make him a prince?"

"He was married once. She died during childbirth. It was a long time ago. He's had lovers since then, but he hasn't "settled down". "

"That's great… I guess? That doesn't change that he's still a king and I'm just.. I'm not even gerudo or royalty. Not to mention that he and I haven't been getting along."

"That's not what I saw in the training ring."

"You mean when he pinned me to the ground and later I called him a pig and we avoided each other for months?"

"..." Aveil opened her mouth, but nothing came out and she quickly shut it instead of gaping like a hylian bass.

"In any case, we need to get back home, get back to my training." Aria packed her bags as Aveil concentrated on packing her own.

"Oh, that reminds me, I received a message before we left, the tournament is going to be pushed back several months, so we have more time to train you more thoroughly. I'm thinking since you've been learning how to dance, we can incorporate dancing into your fighting style with daggers."

"Um.. maybe once I've learned more about dancing? I'm still not as agile as the rest of you."

"It takes years to get that agile. You're improving very quickly."

"Why do you want me in the tournament anyways?"

"I believe you can win. I think you bring something new to the tournament, and I believe you could get to the finals, maybe even win against Nabooru if you work hard at it enough."

"I think your expectations are a little high, don't you?"

"Not at all. I believe you can do it" Aveil patted her back, grinning.

They met up with other gerudos, grabbed their horses and set out for the Gerudo Valley once more. The trip back home was an interesting one, everyone having their own wild stories of the lovers they'd taken that night or previous months. Aria wondered why she hadn't been brought before, and Aveil admitted it was because they hadn't been positive they could trust her, or the power she carried with her. She didn't take any offence at that. She hardly trusted her own powers half the time. It took them over a week to reach the canyon that connected the two kingdoms.

"Race ya!" Aveil called. Of course all the gerudo and their quicker horses had jumped over the crevice before Aria had even reached the edge. Titan pushed off near the edge, his hooves flinging dirt everywhere.

His front hooves clipped the edge as they were landing and they tumbled backwards.

"ARIA!" Aveil called as Aria and Titan plummeted into the rapid waters below. Aria swam to the surface only to be forced down by the current. She couldn't see anything as she gasped for air every time she came up. Desperately she tried to use the water's spark to slow the are around her, which failed to work. Then she tried to pull the air into her lung using the magic, but she hadn't worked with wind and she was just so exhausted.

Everything went dark.


	9. Chapter 9

Slowly, as Aria woke up, she registered the sound of a crackling fire and a few hushed voices around her. Two of the voices were male. She couldn't quite understand what they were saying, well what one was saying. The other was making soft noises of negative.. or maybe that was affirmation? A third voice, female, sounded rather indignant. Blearily, her eyes blinked open and faces came into her view. Her throat and chest felt like they were on fire, as if someone had strangled her and she'd been struggling for air for years. She wheezed out a soft noise as the faces became less blurry.

There were three people in the room, one a young man with bright, curious blue eyes, another a balding man with a tusk-like mustache, and a young woman with dirty blond hair and green eyes.

"Shhh she's waking."

"Hruh hrum, hello miss. Good to see you awake." The mustached man said, backing up so she had better view of the place. The girl seemed to take over, where her father left off, trying to lift her head up for. She groaned and shifted away from the girl, leaning up on her elbows.

"Titan?" Aria croaked, her throat hurting.

"Titan? You mean your horse?"

Aria nodded, rubbing her throat.

"He's in the pasture with the goats. I'm not sure how either of you survived, but you're a pretty strong-willed pair. How'd you get in the river anyways?"

"Broken bridge between," She swallowed, trying to calm the swelling in her throat." Gerudo and Hryule.."

"Ahh, I've been there before. That's a pretty big jump for a horse so large as yours." The elderly man looked up, as if remembering where she was talking about.

"For the love of Nayru, what made you think your horse could make a jump that large?"

"Did it before."

"Well, you shouldn't do it again."

"Have to get home." Aria whispered, but that hurt even more.

"Home? The Gerudo Desert is your home?"

Aria nodded, swallowing roughly.

"You're not Gerudo, or human. You're hylian."

She shook her head no. She was neither of these things. Not one or the other, just herself.

The boy in the white tunic and green shoulder pad didn't say anything, but this whole time he watched her with an intense curiosity. She glanced his way and he smiled, offering his hand out to her.

"Link! She should be resting! You really should stay in bed for a few days."

Aria frowned. Sure, she hurt, but it wasn't the worst pain she'd ever felt before. She'd trained harder with the gerudos, and Aveil would never let her stay in bed this long. She'd already been away for too long. Aria shook her head, and lifted herself up. Her stomach hurt. She grimaced and waved off the girl with the short blonde hair. Slowly she stood up, only to stagger and end up in the arms of the blue eyed boy. Aria nodded her thanks to him, taking small steps, waiting for her legs to get used to standing once more.

"Titan." She spoke softly. He nodded, grinning at her and helped her walk out the door, ignoring the blonde girl's protests. It was an uphill journey to the goat pasture, Aria stumbling every once in a while, but the boy's hand steadied her. The moment she reached the gate, Titan trotted over, nickering happily. He looked no wear the worse, the bay's coat was shiny and brushed. In fact, he seemed to be filling out a little.

"How long have I been out?" It hurt less the more she talked. The boy look thoughtful for moment.

"We found you two days ago, but it could've taken you longer to get here, since we found you by the river's edge." His voice was soft, and not very deep.

"I have to get home."

"The Gerudo desert? No offense, but you don't look like you can get there on your own from here."

"Where is here?"

"Ordon Village. We're in the middle between Faron Woods and the Lost Woods."

"Lost Woods?"

"Mmm. It's said anyone who travels in the woods either end up a stalfos."

"How far away is the Gerudo Desert from here?"

"I want to say about two weeks ride." He whistled and a silver bay mare came trotting up to him. She nudged Titan, who politely stepped to the side. Aria considered the mare for a moment. She looked to almost be the same breed as Titan, heavier and strong, but still quick.

"This is Epona. Epona… umm?" Link glanced at Aria uncertainly.

"Aria."

"Aria.. cute name. I'm Link."

"Thanks. So what would you recommend?"

"Recommend?"

"On how I get home?"

"Oh. Well, if it's not too much bother, I have to make a trip to Hyrule Castle Town next week, if you can be patient then- I can escort you up north, and then to the gap?"

"I.. would appreciate that, but where will I stay in the meantime? Wouldn't it be a bother to you- to go out of your way for nearly a week or so?"

Link blushed. "No no! It wouldn't be a bother. For umm.. residence, we'll talk to the mayor about it. If he can't find you a place you could always bunk down with me."

"Thank you."

"Oh. I believe these are yours," He handed her a satchel. It was filled with seeds. Some of them were new- ones she hadn't picked before. She didn't say anything, except a mumbled thanks.

She spent the night in Mayor Bo's house, under the careful watch of the short haired girl, who she found out was named Ilia. She slept in a cot on one side of the house, after having the chance to organize all the things that she'd brought with her. Most of Titan's old, heavy, tack had gotten lost- she assumed in the river. The bands had been weak, so they'd probably snapped under pressure. She was glad her horse had survived. She'd been left with most of her weapons, the daggers Aveil had given her, and a few clothes.

The moment Link found out Aria could fight, he asked her to spar with him. For a young man who hadn't seen a whole lot of the world, he could fight like no other. What she had in swiftness and flexibility, he made up for in skill and accuracy. Where Ganondorf had been powerful and tactful, Link had the energy and an odd sort of grace to him, he was a better swordsman overall.

A routine was quickly set up. They woke up early before dawn, meditated- something she'd brought to the game, trained noon, spent a good portion of the day doing favors, working, fishing, and at the end of the day they worked the horses up at Fado's Ranch. Link showed her, after a particularly bad escape of the goats, how to flip them over without harming them.

Every night was different. The first few days she stayed with the Mayor and his daughter, the middle of the week she sent time mostly with Link, sometimes laying out on the roof of his house, or one of the tall flats where they had been fishing off of, just gazing at the stars.

Some nights he spoke of life in Ordon Village, how the people worked, fondly mentioning their various quirks. She spoke of the gerudo, how they found joy in everyday tasks, how the women worked their hearts out doing anything and everything, and she talked of the terrors at night. She told him how infants could freeze to death, despite being curled up under the covers with their mothers, how the sun stole the water from their very bodies as they trained, how the earth was cracked and life-less.

One night they lay up there, counting the stars, speaking of the gods and goddesses, the history of where they came from.

"What do you think of magic?" Aria asked as they gazed up at the twinkling lights above their heads on a cloudless night.

"Magic? It has it's uses. I know the royal blood has a very strong strain of it, but other than that.. everyone has a bit of it. According to history, our pointed ears give us the ability to hear messages that transcend time and space. "

"What if it's not only royal blood?"

"Then said person would have been blessed by the goddesses." He shrugged,glancing at Aria who was staring up at the sky, not looking at him.

"What if they don't believe in the goddesses, they just have powerful magic, they're not royal or anything."

Link was quiet for a moment, and Aria received the distinct feeling that he'd never really thought about it being anything but.

"Like the you?"

Aria looked at him confused. "How did you?" She hadn't practiced her magic since the day she woke up. It felt strange, but she'd remembered Aveil's words and tried her hardest to hide it.

"I suspected as much. I know you're not gerudo, and you're obviously not hylian. You don't act like how I would imagine someone of knowing royal descent would."

"Oh, like you've met much royalty."

He grinned cheekily at her and she swatted his arm.

"I know somewhere safe that you can practice your magic. The spring between the village and the forest. It's waters are healing, so if you get hurt while practicing…"

"Uh… thanks." She mumbled, before returning to the conversation of magic and hyrule's heros.

The next day Link lead Aria to the Ordon Spring. It was a lovely cove, the sound of the small waterfalls calming. He watched her practice with the water for a while, gazing in wonder to watch water floating around mid-air, being used as possible attacks. He left after an hour or so- saying there were chores he needed to do. After Aria tired herself out, she floated in the water, eyes closed as the sun warmed the waters.

Aria wasn't sure how much time has passed. One moment she was floating in the healing waters of Ordon Spring, the next a large white Ordon Goat was before her, shining brightly. It looked like polished porcelain, or carved tusk almost.

*You come before a war, young one. You don't know what part you may yet play, what things you may prevent or cause.*

"Where am I? Who are you? What are you talking about?"

*You will see in time, Daughter of hope. However, now is not that time.*

"What do you want of me now?"

*I must show you a possible future.*

The world around her went black once more. A field was filled with fire. An army, lead by a large man on a black horse broke through the tree line and scoured across the land, wrecking everything in sight. An army from the north rose and they fought. After what felt like years of fighting, the northern army won, and the man was chained. He sat in a cell for days and night, until finally he was 'executed'. The execution place was in the desert, he was surrounded by old men in white. Chained to a wall, they pierced his chest with a sword and … he didn't die. His hand twitched, and with one hand glowing- broke the chains holding him. He ran forward and killed one of the glowing men. The other five opened a portal somehow, and he flew into it. That was when she got a good look at his face. Her heart plummeted.

"There has to be a way I can stop this." She gasped, turning to see the Ordon Spirit watching her.

*One possible future among many. Be wary the path you take to prevent something, may end up being the path that ensures it*

Aria awoke lying on the shores of the spring, the sky having already turned gold as the sun set. Link and Ilia were walking up with Epona in hand.

"Aria?!" Ilia rushed over. "Are you okay, have you been here the whole time? Did you faint?"

No.. I-I'm fine." She said wobbly standing to her feet.

"Maybe you should leave the goat herding to Link today."

"It's fine. I can ride. I think I just passed out from expending too much energy. That's all. I'm rested now." It wasn't entirely a lie, but Aria needed to think on all she'd learned, and maybe talk to Link about it.

A few hours later, while Link and Aria worked to herd the goats, they talked of the magic she'd shown him. Link had been ecstatic to see the 'extent' of her powers. She didn't want to tell him that what he'd seen had only been a bit of what she could do with water, but she also didn't want to go into a long explanation of what she could do so far. He'd asked about other elements, and reluctantly Aria had mentioned that she was still learning to work with plants. Immediately he jumped on the idea of them visiting the forest temple, that maybe her being at the forest temple for a few hours would help her better understand plants, would encourage the growth of her magic. He swore he'd take her there tomorrow morning- their official first day on their way to Hyrule Castle Town.

He was wrong about the forest temple, which turned out to be a large hollowed out tree, turned temple. It hadn't helped her, in fact it had only caused a delay in their plans. Bokoblin, large serpentine plants, and dangerous spiders filled their pathway. It wasn't that they weren't easy to kill or knock out, it was that she and Link weren't attuned to each other. Despite all the practicing they'd done that week, they seemed to do nothing but butt heads, skid past each other, and almost knock the sword or staff right out of each other's hands. Being the smaller of the two, Aria seemed to take the brunt of it, receiving multiple bruises and one cut on her arm that she'd had to wrap up. They reached the center of the forest temple, Link with a slight limp and Aria's arms aching as if she'd done a week's worth of training in less than a day.

The center was contaminated by a large spider. It was larger than the normal spiders, but it wasn't as large as Aria suspected it could grow to be. There weren't many eggs laying around, but once the spider was killed they made sure to burn up the egg sacs. They were too tired for words, Link offering her a thumbs up at she destroyed the last egg sac with a bit of magic. His smile was rather grim, but it was still a smile. Exhausted when they returned to their horses outside the forest temple, they slumped in the saddle for a few hours, slowly reaching the edge of the forest where they made camp.

That night Aria woke up constantly, dreams flashing before her eyes- the vision of Ganondorf's possible execution. Sometimes the glowing mark on his hand didn't appear, and she'd spend the entire time watching as his eyes slowly went blank, blood dripping from between his cracked lips. Other times, he'd killed more than just one sage, grabbing onto the wall before the portal sucked him in. It was his golden eyes that haunted her the most, always half-crazed, always looking like he'd already lost the world and this was just another expected tiresome bump in the road of life. Someone too stubborn to give up, but too tired to care anymore.

Aria was already wide awake before morning came, rubbing her tired eyes as she finished cooking breakfast and packing up most of the camp. They hardly talked that day, and she ignored Link's worried glances at her. Another night of nightmares, this time one's so horrible she crawled into the same sleeping bag as Link. He was rather shocked, wide blue eyes staring down at her shuddering form. His arms wrapped around her didn't stop the nightmares, but it lessened the intensity of them. She didn't tell him of the nightmares that night either. The next morning, it felt like she'd been punched in the gut. She longed to get back to the Gerudo Fortress as quickly as possible, but they could only tax the horses and themselves so much. On their way towards Hyrule Castle Town they came upon a small caravan going in almost the same direction, under attack by bokoblins and bulblins riding large hogs. Link took the lead, rushing straight for the riders, while Aria took an alternate route, focusing on the caravan instead. She doused her hand in water and began pulling out the flaming arrows that were within reach. A bulbin came charging at her, and Titan galloped ahead and around the other side of the bulbin. Aria thrust her staff into the side of the bulbin riding on the back, forcing the archer off the saddle. The bulbin in front hissed at her and grabbed the end of her staff. Wrong move.

She pushed with the staff, wrestling the bulbin for the end of it, on eye ahead of her. When she got close to a line of trees she released the staff. It had the desired effect. The bulbin had spare seconds to cheer in it's 'victory' before the warthog skidded between two slim trees. Instead of dropping the staff, the bulbin got shoved off the warthog. Aria delivered the final blow before returning to the caravan where Link had just finished slaying the last warthog rider. The caravan slowed to a rocky stop and two men and a young girl stepped out of the caravan.

"Thank you for saving us, kind heros." The long haired man in the robes spoke as he mostly looked at Link. The young girl was eyeing her curiously, and Aria glanced down at her horse, focusing on fixing the straps that helped hold the old saddle to the stallion's back. It was a saddle she'd had to borrow from Link, Epona's older one, before Link had been able to build the one he currently used. She wasn't really paying attention to what the man was saying to Link, until the words 'escort' came up. Immediately her head jerked up and Link looked at her, as if she was actually important in this decision.

"Hmm?"

"Would you two be so kind as to escort us to Kakariko Village?" the long haired man, she later learned was Renado, asked her patiently.

Aria glanced eastwards, pondering their options. She could find her way home from Kakariko, but it would make their trip longer. Still, people needed their help and for the short time she'd known Link, she knew to him it was unacceptable to leave or ignore someone who needed help when there was something they could do.

"Of course, it would be our honor." She gave a slight bow, ignoring the almost giddy grin of Link's. Link took to the front, eagerly chatting with Renado and Barnes. The young girl, Luda, watched Aria as she rode behind the caravan, grinning at her every time Aria glanced or looked in the girl's general direction. Aria was so sure that the girl would get tired after a while, but no- she just kept smiling away watching her ride Titan and keep an eye out for danger.

Night came upon quick wings, and reluctantly they settled down for the night. Luda immediately skipped over to Aria as she was untacking and grooming Titan. Unabashedly she asked Aria about herself, how she knew Link, how she became a warrior, if she could teach her. Aria nervously glanced at Renado, but he was busy settling the horses and moving things about in his wagon. She explained a little bit of how she became a warrior, telling the girl she'd been taken in around a year ago by a warrior tribe- not mentioning the gerudo by name, nor did she talk of magic or Ganondorf, just a bit of the training and a hint of what work she'd done with Link. When Luda asked if she could train her, the hair on Aria's arms rose.

"You should talk to your father about that."

"He wants me to be a healer like him."

"There is good in healing."

"Yeah, but there's good in knowing how to fight."

"You mean defending yourself."

"Protecting those around you, yeah, and making sure no one gets hurt ever again."

'That, little one, is impossible. There will always be creatures, people, or accidents waiting to happen. Heros.. do not go looking for trouble. Trouble find them, and they deal with it in the best way that fits the situation. Not every situation will require fighting. Some situations may just been a bit of conversation, getting to the root of the problem."

"How do you know which ones are fighting and which ones are talking."

"Generally speaking, it's all up to how you approach the situation. It's almost always better to try talking before fighting. Always try to see the situation through their eyes first. There's always two sides to a coin, multiple views in a story." Aria chose her words carefully, realizing that Luda could every well be the next hero, she was the future and Aria feared the worst for the future already thanks to the nightmares.

"Huh.." Luda made to say something, but her father called her over, giving Aria a curious look. She shrugged it off and went back to grooming Titan. That night they took turns staying up and keeping watch. A few stalhounds popped out of the ground, threatening the small group but they were easily taken care of. Aria gazed longingly at the sky. She didn't mind being out, she actually enjoyed the traveling and the practice in real battles. She just… she missed the gerudo. She missed the lessons, the dancing, the magic, and a particular king.

* * *

Aveil had sent out a group of girls, headed by herself after they reached the Gerudo Fortress. On fresh horses they rode through Hyrule along the river searching for traces of Aria, traces of the staliion's tracks- if they survived.

Near Lake Hylia they found what they were looking for. A corpse of a horse lay near the river- half eaten by wolfos. A few miles further they found Titan's tack and Aria's satchel. Cursing Hyrule and their goddesses, Aveil and her group rode swiftly back to the Fortress, announcing the news to everyone.

Koume and Kotake flew from the dining room, where it'd been announced, to their own abodes, silent and solemn. That night they lit a great pyre in her honor, reaching towards the sky, one that could be seen for miles and miles.


	10. Chapter 10

Morning was met with renewed vigor from the caravan. Link took to the front once more, Aria taking to the back. This time Luda sat up front with Barnes. Her father, Renado sat in the back. It was quiet for a while, before the long haired man move aside the curtains and stared at her with curious dark eyes.

"Tell me of yourself." It sounded like a request, but it felt otherwise. Aria shifted uncomfortably on Titan's back. The bay stallion snorted in response, tossing his head once to make his 'point' known.

"What is there to know? Link and I are escorting you to Kakariko, where we will turn around, head towards Castle Town, where Link and I will depart ways."

"So you will stay in Castle Town? With relatives?"

"No. I have no relatives. Link has business in Castle Town, and I have business past Castle Town." She glance around them, but the world seemed at peace for now, bird chirping, a light breeze playing across the grassy knolls. It was a stark contrast to the heat of the desert, one that she was sure was already beating down upon it's inhabitants with a cruel fury.

He seemed to study her for a while afterwards before he next spoke.

"You don't seem very familiar with Hyrule. Where do you hail from."

She had no reason to lie to him, and it wasn't entirely untruthful when she told him that she hailed from another kingdom entirely. One question lead to another, and slowly she began to open up to him, telling him of many things about the kingdom she came from. She spoke of the festivals, of how time seemed to slow during them, and how time seemed to speed up when the kingdom's wars began. How the wars never seemed to stop. He encouraged her to talk more, listening. She only stopped when she realized she'd begun talking about that fateful night in the desert.

"You were left all alone in the desert, how'd you survive?"

"I..I.." Aria stopped, trying to find a decent semi-believable lie. "I was just lucky.. that's all."

"Lucky indeed, but you've stated that was months ago. Where have you been all this time?"

"Traveling." The lie burned in her mouth. He seemed to know it as well.

"Where did you learn to fight? Surely your skills weren't learned on your own."

"Fighting on horseback is taught in a lot of places."

"Not quite as many as you believe. You have a finesse that is lacking in Hyrule outside of the royal guard. Better than Link, most certainly. It remind me of the gerudo."

"The gerudo?"

"The desert warriors." He smiled at her, not unkindly. "Child, I am well traveled of the borders of Hyrule.I would recognize that style of fighting anywhere."

Aria cursed under her breath, heat flooding her cheeks. It wasn't something had realized. Sure, she'd learned a bit from Link during her time spent there, but it hadn't really changed her style, just the skill she put behind her blows. She was slowly becoming more precise with her moves- instead of making multiple wrong ones very quickly, just one or two precise ones that could get the job done.

"You have nothing to fear. I understand why you would want to hide it. Perhaps, if you and Link stayed in Kakariko for a little while, I could show you how to hide it, to learn your own style? I can offer you both lodging in the meantime."

"I..I'm not saying no, but I need to discuss it with Link."

"Of course."

Link had been thrilled. Of course they could stay a little longer. He would send a messenger to Ordin village, explaining his delay in returning when they reached Kakariko. Ever bright and eager, the young man was more than happy to go out of his way to learn new things. The next day they reached Kakariko village and Link sent out the note. A familiar face smiled at Aria from the crowd, the blue eyes and brown hair connecting in her mind. She wasn't here for a repeat visit to the tavern, not that she wouldn't mind spending time with him- it just wasn't her objective.

Renado had things to do, packages to deliver, people to see, so training would have to begin the next day. Luda was more than willing to escort Link and Aria around the town, showing them the large windmill, even leading them to the bathing springs run by the all too friendly gorons. The gorons were something else. Sure, Aria had seen one heading into Castle Town, but she'd never spoken with one.

They didn't open up to them the first day. They were rather stand-offish. It wasn't until Link and Aria started sparring together in one of the training rings- they later found out were used for 'sumo- wrestling'- that the Gorons really began talking to them. It was one of the most awkward things watching Link scramble around a ring getting pushed over by large Gorons. She'd tried a few times- but the gorons were solid rock.

Sometimes, when they were surprised, they'd ball up, their round bodies camouflaging before their very eyes to look like a boulder. Link learned that when they opened back up, if aimed right, it could toss them all the way to the top of the village where the springs were hidden. It was much more interesting to do than take the road. Link had done it several times before Aria was brave enough to try. The goron reassured her several times and Link was already at the top to 'catch her'. She landed in the water with a splash. Worried, the moment she touched the water she called it to her and surrounded herself in a bubble to protect herself from impact. Link was the only one who noticed, and she quickly dispelled it when she felt the fear of impact fade. It was.. rather fun actually.

The second day was when training began with Renado. He was like.. a tree, flexible, but firm. She couldn't swipe his legs out from beneath him, and he blocked her attacks to easily. She was… predictable, trying each of her learned moves on him until she had nothing left in her repertoire. Link was no better, yelling every time he used all his strength in an attack, attacks that Renado had only to step out of the way to avoid.

"Relax. Feel the energy of the earth surrounding yourself. Everyone you meet will have a different way to connect themselves to what is around them. Reach to the earth, tell me what you feel."

Aria watched Link close his eyes, taking his time to figure out what he was feeling. Renado was looking at her expectantly.

"I feel.. determination."

"An emotion is a good start. Aria? What do you feel."

"Everything."

"Everything? That's… try harder."

"Try harder? What is there to try? I feel it all." A sudden streak of impetuous anger flooded through her for a moment and she clenched her fist.

"No, I just want you to single out. Single out one connection to the earth."

"Like what?"

"What you feel strongest. Is there something you connect to easily? An emotion, an element."

Sighing she closed her eyes. She felt stressed, and stated so.

"Deeper. Pull the earth to you."

"Fire. Plants. Life. Longing."

"Longing?"

"Familiarity. I want to return home."

"To the Gerudo."

"Yes."

"Tell me, where did fire come from?"

"Fire is.. it's easy."

"Easy… It's not something you have to reach for?"

"No. Fire is always there."

"What isn't? What's the hardest to reach for?"

"Life, Hope."

"Then hope is what you should work on, to strive for."

"Link doesn't have to strive for determination. He's one of the most courageous and outgoing people I've known so far."

Reluctantly, Link spoke up. "Courage.. doesn't always come easy for me. I just.. I feel connected to determination, because that's what I am. I'm determined to be courageous, to be the person who helps even when I'm scared and all I want to do is go home."

Aria pondered on it for a bit. There was so much doubt surrounding her. Doubt she'd get back safe and sound to the Gerudo, doubt she'd survive days on her own without Link, doubt she could help the Gerudo. It was like a dark blanket that tried to suffocate her, and yet there was hope, that slim glimmer of light at the end of everything.

"Now that you've both found the feeling, focus on it- let it grow. You both depend on your own individual styles. On your own, they're not so bad- predictable, but not bad. Together… you're both rather choppy- always almost getting in each other's way. Sword play is like an art- a dance if you will. You must predict what your partner and your enemy is going to do, and improvise. Grab your staffs. Alright. We'll practice together. "

He did. He spent hours teaching them a form that worked together, how to predict what each other was going to do based upon their stance, the very tension in their muscles. They didn't quite get it the first day of training. At the end of the day, at best they were able to not lob each other's heads off. Sore and bruised they went to bed early. The next day, Renado was out taking care of patients. Link and Aria spent more time with the Gorons. The Gorons were great warriors apparently. Aria couldn't disagree, but their style was rather blunt, with enough strength to break boulders with just their teeth- they could destroy anything with a few punches. Link took it as a challenge to fight one of the Gorons. They chose and older Goron to teach them, one who knew how to hold back on the punches. He easily put a dent in Link's temporary shield, smashing the wood with his dark knuckles. The goron weren't very quick, and Aria took advantage of that, using her staff to tap beneath the Goron's arms - a sort of mock kill. Link hadn't been impressed, but the Goron just laughed and patted her on the head. It hurt.

Renado wasn't as easy on them as the Gorons were. Bruised and tired, the lessons were intense and didn't slow down except for their forms to be corrected. Aria felt the elderly man was especially difficult on her. Perhaps it was because Luda had been watching their fights and had started mimicking her. When she took him aside and asked him, he admitted it was partially that.

The other part was not something she'd expected, not something she'd thought about before. It had made her stomach roil with disgust and fear. She'd never thought of that about her opponents- never imagined they'd try to take advantage of her body in that way if she were ever defeated. Death, she expected, but not.. not what he'd described. It stuck with her, and she didn't question him anymore.

On their 'down time' Aria spent a good portion of her time with Luda or Link. Whenever she spent time with Link, it was often doing small menial things for the people of Kakariko. It earned her enough rupees to have a few outfits made, and a few saddle bags for her horse. She had intentions of having one made in Kakariko, but they didn't have the right materials for her there. When she spent time with Luda, it was mostly relaxing, spending time in the springs or teaching the young girl how to ride. Some days she allowed Luda to play with her long hair. The little Kakariko girl adored braiding and putting flowers in it, appalled when Aria had joked about cutting it off to make it easier to fight with and give her opponents less of a handhold on her. Luda had shown her how to put it up in a quick bun, and then a different- wide bun that involved a few clips to keep the hair as close as possible to her head.

It wasn't too long past the few weeks that they spent in Kakariko, that Aria felt the longing to return to the Gerudo desert. Reluctant to stay, and reluctant to leave, Link and Aria said their goodbyes on horseback as a good portion of the village waved them off. Inside one of her satchels sat a few new seeds.


	11. Chapter 11

The weather took a turn for the worst as they made their way to Castle Town. It was a few days journey, and the sky overhead rumbled with an intensity Aria hadn't seen before. It was like a large beast's roar. Link frowned at the clouds above them, dark and intimidating. Out of habit, she asked if a sand storm was approaching and he'd laughed a little, shaking his head.

"No. We don't get sandstorms in Hyrule. This is an actual storm, a bad one by the looks of it. We need to find shelter before it gets dark."

"Wait, so it's just a bit of rain?"

"That," he pointed to an extremely large dark cloud amongst the cloud-filled sky ", isn't going to be a ilittle/i rain. That's going to be a windy torrent that'll soak you to the bone. I wouldn't suggest riding out in a storm like this, even if it were an emergency."

"Oh, so I suppose we should find a village then."

Link nodded and urged them onwards at a quicker pace- not willing to be caught by the storm before they reached shelter.

Bad luck.

They did reach the nearest town, but not before the rain hit them. The town stable was nearly full, and they'd had to dry off, groom, feed, and water their own horses before they trudged to the local inn. It was dark when they reached the inn, it's sign barely visible by a lit lantern. Sullenly they opened the door. Everyone in the inn stopped and stared as Link stepped in first, followed by Aria. They pulled their hoods down, basking in the warmth of the inn. Nervous, Aria followed Link to the bar where he asked for two rooms. She could feel several pairs of eyes burning on the back of her head.

The bartender looked them over slowly, eyes lingering on their ears, before offering them the two rooms. It was much cheaper than the boarding at Kakariko's Tavern from when she was there with the Gerudo. She didn't doubt that Hylians raised their prices around the red-headed women due to their prejudice. Their price included one plate of dinner- whatever was being cooked that night, and one plate of breakfast the next morning for each of them. No tough goat jerky for dinner that night.

They sat down at a table near the fireplace, having hung their cloaks to dry. Talk slowly returned to the room as the other temporary inhabitants of the inn, seemed to ignore them. Aria couldn't shake the feeling that someone was staring at them still. Link noticed as well, laying a calloused hand on her shoulder a few moments before a waitress brought over their food. It was a thick creamy soup, potatoes and pieces of steaming meat mixed in some spices and herbs.

The two of them hardly talked as they slowly ate their food, enjoying the warmth of the fire and casually looking around for the person who was staring them down. Several people had left by the time they were halfway through either the lumpy soup. Exasperated, Aria made to stand. Link grabbed her arm and a soft hand landed on her shoulder, guiding her back into her seat as a stranger joined their table. This stranger still wore their cloak. They didn't speak for a while, Aria could feel their eyes tracing all of her and Link's features slowly, and she felt not unlike an experiment being studied by a scientist. Link broke the silence first,

"Who are you?"

His voice was drowned out by the rumbling thunder overhead, the chandeliers shaking. The figure turned to him slowly, taking their sweet time.

"A friend."

"A friend of whom?" Aria asked trying to get straight to the point.

"Yours."

"Well, Friend, what news do you have for us tonight?" Link beamed, ignoring the annoyed look Aria gave him.

"News from the River Zoras, they have a major infestation of Octoroks. They're paying good money, but very few are brave enough to fight the rock spitting beasts."

"Octoroks? What are those?" Aria asked, trying to imagine the intimidatingly large, rock spitting beasts. Were the rocks explosive? Were the beasts larger than a horse? Maybe they had scales?

"They are amphibious round creatures. Odd tentacles instead of legs, with round mouths and large soul-less eyes. They spit rocks at those passing by and when you get too close the hide under the water where you can't hit them. A menace."

"Aren't the Zora a water people? Can't they just kill the beasts underwater?"

"They blend too well, and hide in the smallest of coves and places in the river. How do you not know this?"

"She's never been near the river or Lake Hylia. We have a very small, friendly lake that goes through Ordon" Link butted in, putting a hand on Aria's shoulder.

"Ahh, then perhaps you should leave it to some more experienced warrior." The man stood up, grasping his cloak to him. "It is time I took my leave. I bid you a good night, warriors." He gave a slight bow and left through the front door.

"Well, that was odd, but hey do you want to go try to reduce the infestation. I know you want to get home, but you've hardly seen Hyrule and.." Link was like an energized bunny, his blue eyes sparkling in the candlelight. Aria groaned inwardly, before reluctantly nodding. She supposed it couldn't hurt to allow Link this diversion from their determine path. Certainly, after all of this he would return to Ordon and continue on with the small town life.

"Well, if we're going to be going to river tomorrow, we should get some sleep." Aria stretched, and went upstairs to the bedroom she'd rented. It was small, with a single bed, a dresser, and a trunk to hold all her things. She peeled the wet clothes off of her, hanging them off the side of the dresser to dry, and wiggled under the sheets. It took a while to warm them up, but once they were she passed out.

 _Titan and Aria trudged through the scorching desert, no water in sight, no oasis nearby, no cacti or shrubs. It was a complete wasteland, the desert cracked and dry, the land hard beneath her feet. She looked to the sky, not a single cloud in sight, the sky itself so bright that she couldn't see any color in it. Everything just seemed an odd glowing white. Small bright yellow particles floated in the air around her. Where was she?_

 _In a flash of light,a bright being swirled before her- not unlike a giant snake. It tilted its head side to side, studying her._

 _*You can not save him in your current state*_

 _Save him? Save who? Link?_

 _*You must seek aid from the Great Fairy*_

 _Who? Where?_

 _*Seek her in the Cave of Ordeals in the Gerudo Desert when you are ready*_

 _Ready? When would she be ready? What qualified for her being 'ready'?_

 _*You are not ready yet. Learn. Grow. Fight. Remember mercy*_

 _The figure disappeared and suddenly she was engulfed in flames, not unlike the volcanic insides of Mount Doom. Falling deeper into the lava, it shifted into water and instead of burning, she was drowning. Aria choked, bubbles flying out of her mouth, stealing precious air. She burst through the water and then she was free falling, Odd large birds surrounded her, diving through the clouds in the sky. They were brightly colored, bills large for their bodies, almost as if they could spoon buckets of water from the waters she had fallen from._

 _When she finally did land, it was once more in a completely barren desert. Her bare feet touched the ground, and it reached into her like the will of the vines when she first came to the Gerudo Desert. Life and plant life burst from the ground beneath her bare feet, reaching towards the scorching sun as though it had been hiding in darkness for so long and was trying to reach the sun itself._

 _Aria fell and an array of wildflowers burst from the grass. Where her hand touched, grew a small stream of water to feed the plant life. It all seemed too easy._

 _A darkness came over the land, thunder clouds rolling through the sky blocking out the sun. The plants withered before the darkness and the stream turned red with blood. The sky burst with fire and a dark beast rose before it, crazed golden and red eyes staring at her. Drool dripped from its mighty jaws, melting all that it touched._

 _It lunged for her._

Aria awoke in a panic, clutching the blanket to her chest. She rolled to her side, glancing out the window. It was still raining, it was still dark out. The rain pattered against the roof, leaving large streaks of water on the window as lightning flashed in the distance. Sighing, she laid her head back down on the feathery pillow and went back to sleep, ignoring the scratchy feeling in her throat.

The next morning she woke to the right side of her nose swollen and stuffed. Her body ached, her throat was more a little scratchy and moving, even to lift her head off the pillow hurt. A knock at the door was what woke her up.

"Come in." It hurt to speak.

Link slowly opened the door, bringing in a plate of steaming food and stopped short when he saw the feverish glint in Aria's eyes and the uncontrolled shivering.

"Heh. Guess I should get you some soup instead." He set the food on the side table and walked over to her. Aria flinched when he reached his hand out to her and instantly regretted it, her body protesting in the form of a phlegmy cough. He pulled out a small cloth from one of the dresser drawers and passed it to her, before checking her forehead.

"Yep. A fever. Must be thanks to the weather. You'll adjust soon, until then we'll just save the octorok hunting for later." He helped her settle back down in the bed, plumping her pillow a bit before leaving with the food he'd just brought up. Aria shuddered slightly, curling in on herself as best she could. It just wasn't hot enough.

Link came back upstairs several minutes later carrying a steaming bowl of something Aria could only assume was supposed to be soup or something of the sort. Link helped prop her up on the pillows so she could sit up. He nestled the bowl in a bunch of blankets so it wasn't a precarious balancing act to not spill anything.

"Eat, but slowly. Small sips, small bites." He handed her the spoon.

Aria took a bite.

Her stomach growled with ravenous hunger as she swallowed that first time. The second spoonful came much quicker than that first one, and the third one was even faster. Link grabbed the spoon from her hand and she whine pitifully.

"That isn't slow. I know you're hungry, but if you eat like that you're just going to make yourself sicker."

Aria stared at him with sad green eyes. He hesitantly gave her the spoon back. Slowly, despite her urges, Aria sipped on the soup. It was painful waiting several moments between each sip- sips that weren't even spoonfuls or a mouthful. Link watched over her for a good quarter hour before he took the bowl from her, tucked her in and told her to get some rest.

Sleep didn't come easily. When Aria did get some sleep, it was in short spurts and she always woke up shivering. Link had come in once or twice to help her eat and to offer her more blankets. He'd already paid for two more days of room and board for her. The storm outside her window had yet to cease.

Left alone with nothing to do for hours, Aria wiggled on the bed for a bit, slept for a bit, and then successfully reached one of her sacks without leaving the warmth of the bed. It was the sack with seeds of all sorts. She didn't have a label or anything for each seed, so she had no idea which seed turned into what plant. Aria rolled the seeds around in her hands, studying each one- memorizing their texture, their sizes and shapes. Each one was uniquely different, though some of them were from the same species of plant. She could convince some of the seeds to grow. They grew rather easily, the moisture in the air a perfect environment for them to bloom and flower. Convincing them to return into seed form, to sink back into themselves and reverse the effect had been harder and when she was through she was left exhausted. It helped her pass out, to a point where she could ignore the phlegm tickling her throat.

The next day she felt even more miserable, waking up to the tickling sensation in her throat that sent her into a wild coughing fit. Her diaphragm aching so much that a the strongest cough, she was forced to find a bucket and empty the contents of her stomach in it. Forcefully, Aria tried to slow her breathing, swallowing back coughs and mucus as best she could. Carefully she laid back down in bed, propping her head up as high as possible.

Aria hardly saw Link for that entire week. She supposed he was busy helping out people, or doing some adventure or another without her. What she did know was that her room and meals were already paid for and he did come by each day, though she often wasn't awake for it she knew he came by due to the little notes and trinkets he left for her. Every once in awhile she caught him leaving, but didn't have the energy to speak. She hadn't felt this weak in a long time, perhaps she could even say it was similar to her first day of training under Koume and Kotake. There were more nightmares every night. Even sick she couldn't get the rest she needed from what she was beginning to question- if her dreams were really visions or just fears twisted and illusioned from sleep and sickness.

Sometimes they weren't so bad. Sometimes she was just lost in the desert, no Titan to help lead her onwards. Sometimes a Poe with a lantern would lead her around for a good while before it grinned, swirled in the air, and left her stranded, lost in the desert. Other times she would be swept up in a desert storm, her body disappearing in the sands. Then there were times where she would lose control of her magic and it would swallow her in a large variety of ways- darkness being one of the most common. She would wake up, gasping for breath those nights- the void sending shivers down her spine.

It was a good while before the sickness began to ease up. The first thing she did was have a bath drawn and soaked in the tub for a good while before dressing and going down stairs for food. Link grinned at her from at the bar.

"Feeling better?"

"Quite a bit." Aria's voice was still thick and deeper than her natural voice.

"Still got a bit of a cold, but you think you're ready to head on to our next adventure?"

"Adventure?" Aria's head swam in a confused fog for a moment.

"Yeah, don't you remember saying you wanted to go to the river? It's still pretty infested, but I've helped a bit with dwindling down the octorok population, so it shouldn't be too hard for a tough girl like yourself." The blonde hylian winked playfully swatting her on the arm. She gave a weak smile in return.

"Yeah, let's exercise the rest of this cold off. Shouldn't be too hard."

It was.

Aria was clumsy. Her hands couldn't seem to hold her staff well, as if she'd forgotten all her lessons in less than a week. The octoroks had no qualms with taking advantage of this as they shot the painful rocks the scooped up from the river-bed. Any time she got close to them, they would dive back into the water and swim a little ways farther, odd mouths filled with more rocks to pelt her with. Link seemed to enjoy playing around, using a tree limb to hit the rocks shot in his direction. Sometimes he'd hit them and the rocks would go flying into the river bed, other times he'd get a lucky shot and it'd hit one of the octoroks. The force of such a blow seemed to make the brightly colored beasts dizzy and they'd be too distracted to see the man in green running up to it, until it was too late and his sword had already plunged into it's slimey head.

She tried the same tactic with her staff, but with very little luck- by the time they moved away from the river she could feel her sides aching with the welts that the octoroks had left.

"Here, let me see." Link carefully lifted her shirt, hissing slightly when he saw the large red spots littered across her sides. Some of them were openly bleeding, others were just barely visible.

"I think the octoroks won that one." He gently brushed his finger down her side, raising cuccoo-bumps on Aria's arms.

"Yeah, well they had an advantage."

"Hey, we'll work on it. I met a few of the Zoras downstream. They're a nice bunch- really quick in the water. They're also great with spears- so they might be able to help you train with that thing." He motioned towards her staff. It was a gift from Ilia, made by Rusl, to help her defend herself. It was made from the strong wood of the trees in Ordon Woods. The wood was glossy from it's stain finish and dark. The ends were wrapped in engraved metal- the flat part showing the ordon goat symbol, to remind her of the people she'd left in the forest.

"Maybe tomorrow, when I'm not like this." She motioned towards the raised welts on her skin that had hardly gone down. Link nodded in agreement. They rested under the tree for a while before going after the octoroks once more. The beasts were beginning become fearful of the warriors and less and less were willing to pop out of the water and attack when the man in green came into sight.

By the time they returned to town, the sun was already setting. They fed and groomed their mounts before heading to the inn. Food was the last thing on Aria's mind, but she suffered to eat some before heading to her room and passing out- not bothering to crawl under the covers.

 _*Find the Cave of Ordeals*_


	12. Chapter 12

Rays of pale morning light filtering in through the window was the first thing to wake Aria. Slow to open her eyes, quick to realize- she bolted upwards only to groan and press a hand to her forehead. It was probably a good idea to take things slowly still. Her sniffles were mostly gone, but that didn't mean much to the stuffy fog clouding her brain.

"Morning sleepyhead, you ready for the day?" Link asked, knocking, before he entered slowly- hands filled with two plates of breakfast.

"I overslept."

"Hardly. It's dawn."

"I'm supposed to wake before the sunrise."

"That's in the desert. You don't have to be awake until the cuccoo crows." He grinned, setting one plate on the bedside table before he sat on the bed and began to chow down on breakfast. Hyrulians were rather odd. They liked to start their days off with meals high in protein- fried cuccoo eggs, milk, and fried strips of pork. A stark contrast to the bowls of fruit and dried meat she ate back in the desert. Link had a very healthy appetite for such a lithe warrior- but then it wasn't all that unusual when she'd seen tons of women scarf down bowls of food with the same ferocity as that of a starved wolf.

"Some habits are good to keep." Aria prodded Link in the side, causing the young warrior to yelp loudly and jerk away from her. Aria tilted her head confused. Was he hurt? Had the octoroks gotten him in the side without her noticing? Curious, she continued lightly poking him in the side trying to feel around for the raised skin of a wound. Link let out another high pitched yelp and laughing tried to get away from her prying fingers that kept tickling his sides. His food completely forgotten as he flailed on the bed at the mercy of Aria's unintentional tickling.

"Stop, whoa heheh hey!" He giggled grabbing at her hands, leaving the to rest on his chest. "I'm alright.I swear. I'm just ticklish."

"Ticklish?"

"Yeah, you know. You poke my side in a particular place and I can't help but laugh."

"Never had that happen."

"Weird. Most people I know are ticklish. It's just an uncontrollable thing."

"Does that tickle?" Aria poked him in the side a little roughly.

"No, that doesn't tickle. It's a little more complicated- like… it needs to be light and gentle- like a feather running across your skin type of thing- if you press too hard it just hurts."

"That's weird."

"Yeah, I guess it kind of is" Link chuckled rubbing the back of his head, the tips of his pointed ears a bright red, like his cheeks.

With breakfast finished, they cleaned up, collecting all their things, before they headed out of town back towards the river. A few weeks in a town and it seem the Hylians were all too eager to keep Link there forever. He was friendly and always willing to help people- a very capable young man. Aria had a vague sense that no matter where the blonde hylian went, he would be well liked.

Their horses were eager to get moving. All those days spent in their respective stalls had Epona and Titan eager to race across the plains towards the river. A few times they nearly bucked their riders off with their playful antics, reaching over to nip at each other as if they didn't have any cares or worries in the world. Allowing the horses a good stretch, they raced along the river-side narrowly avoiding the octoroks and their mean rock-spitting habits.

The ride to the Zora's domain was an uphill ride, the heavy horses carefully picking their way up the narrowed paths that wound around and near waterfalls and whitewater rapids. Aria shivered at the sight of the rapids, vaguely recalling the feeling of not being able to get enough air and inhaling too much water. Titan seemed to shy closer to the rocks and away from the swift moving water as well. A cold sweat broke out on Aria's face as the path seemed to get narrower and narrower. White foam careened across rocks spraying both riders and their steeds. Titan reared backwards, Aria's head almost striking on a hanging rock formation as she tried to hold on. Link yelled, reaching for Aria. Titan stumbled slightly, trembling as he found his footing and firmly pressed his body against the wall- as far away from the water as possible. Aria cursed under her breath as her leg became stuck between the wall and the stallion's quaking mass.

"I'm alright. He'll be alright." She stroked the fearful stallion's neck, wincing from the pain of having her leg nearly crushed against the wall. It took a few moments before she could convince the stallion to move forward, enough that her leg wasn't crushed against the wall, and a bit more before she could dismount and lead the horse by hand. It wasn't ideal- her leg throbbing and her footing unsure thanks to the slippery bits of ground. She used Titan's face as a support when she needed to climb up steep rocks. The stallion's whole focus was on her, and it seemed to work. Despite the roar and rush of the water nearby, the way the walls seemed to make the roar echo and sound reverberate in their ears, once she was in front of Titan, he trusted her enough on ground to not flinch at large splatters of water.

It was a long walk up the path, taking half the day with at least two different breaks to give them some time to eat and catch Aria's breath. She mounted Titan once more when the road got wider and the river much calmer. From there it was easy sailing. It wasn't an hour later that they were greeted by two oddly blue guards. It wasn't that they were weird looking per say but it was just Aria hadn't really noticed the fishy people before. The two greeted Link like an old friend, although the young man had only been there a few times in the past week. Aria always found that intriguing, Link being able to find friends everywhere he went. They hailed them in and Link hopped off Epona's back, Aria following suit.

"They don't have stables around here since most people don't visit or ride here. We can just let them loose and I'll show you where I've been storing the tack." Nervously, Aria followed behind him, dismounting and untacking Titan. She was reluctant to let the stallion loose on his own, but if Link said it was safe she would trust him for now. He had yet to prove her wrong. They led the horses to a small field near the lake that was cornered off by a heavily wooded area- almost impossible to squeeze through without making a large commotion. Right away the horses took to the lush grass.

"So… you know how to swim right?


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning!** Explicit parts up ahead!

Look for the horizontal breaks in the story if want to skip them!

* * *

Aria stared down into the lake, where she could just barely see the outline of a building beneath the glinting waters. Link had donned on an odd blue suit and dove into the waters. It took him nearly a full minute to reach the building. She supposed she could do that? Sort of. She'd practiced taking air from water before- but not to the extent that she could swim in the water and breathe at the same time. It seemed like a rather daunting task.

Glancing around, the lakeside was a lot larger than she'd originally thought it would be. Well, it was an extension of Lake Hylia- to be correct, it was more like a series of pools followed by a large waterfall. Zoras moved about their daily lives, not paying much mind to her originally. There were a few children who looked and pointed, but she didn't mind. She probably looked odd to them, a human- er hylian juggling floating balls of water with one hand as her bare feet dipped in the water.

It was some time before Link emerged from the water.

"So, they're not going to let you in."

"Let me guess, it's because I'm a stranger."

"Well, yeah. Heh, but I brought along a friend!" With that a zora popped it's - his- head out from the water. The water she'd been juggling gave way from Aria's shock as she lost control of it and the water fell back into the lake.

"Wowee, you didn't say she could do magic! That's so awesome man. So she's the chick?"

Link's cheeks turned a lovely shade of red as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head, nodding. Aria narrowed her eyes at him, but shrugged it off. None of her business.

"Yeah, umm she's-"

"Say no more, my friend. Name's Micah, and our buddy here asked me to help train you with the staff." The Zora lifted himself out of the water. Link ducked back into the water.

"Don't mind him babe, he's got some work to do for the princess."

"Princess?"

"Yeah, she asked him for a few favors. Shouldn't take him too long- he's pretty good at what he does. Anyways. Grab your staff and let's get to work."

Aria nodded and unlatched the staff from it's sheath in her gear. It was an odd setup but it worked well for her so far.

"Nice. Well balanced, a bit small- but powerful. It's made of some really tough wood, really could knock off some heads with this thing." The Zora gave it an experimental swing. "Very nice. Alright, first we'll work on stances."

"I know a few already."

"Alright, show me what we're working with." Micah tossed her back her staff, before grabbing the one from the ground she hadn't noticed he'd brought up with him.

She got in a defensive stance and waited for him to make the first move. He did, not before eyeing her form. He was fast- almost too fast as she raised her staff to block his attack. He swung back around, and she just barely avoided getting clipped by the end of his staff. Aria thrust her staff upwards, aiming for his jaw- if he was going to fight with his all then who was she to hold back? He easily blocked it, and the other side of his staff sharply connected with her side. She grunted and he backed off.

"That wasn't-"

"Nah, it's chill. You're good, but you're still awkward working both sides of your staff." Micah twirled his staff around with one hand. "Nice to see you don't automatically revert to using magic though, makes it easier to spot your weak spots."

Aria nodded, stretching and letting her spine pop in places.

"Again."

She lunged at him this time. Her strikes fast and focused. Aria trying to keep in mind of the other end of the staff, trying to land a good hit on him. He backed up, blocking each move with relative easy. She cursed under her breath and went for a different tactic, trying to find his weaknesses- but she just couldn't spot them. Every time she thought she'd strike him, he'd seen her look and blocked the strike that was supposed to land. The only time she'd gotten a strike in was when she was reeling from one of his hits and had spun back in- kicking him in the side.

"Oooh. You sure pack a punch babe." Micah held his side, grinning up at her. "Alright, I'm good. Let's go again. This time, keep your knees bent- stance wider."

"But that just leaves me more open-"

"Nah, you'll feel open, but it gives you more fluidity in your hits- think like water."

"Water. Got it."

She didn't get it. Not for at least five hours on near non-stop training. It was only when Aria managed to land and actual hit, this time on Micah's shoulder where he hadn't been fast enough to block, that they stopped practicing.

Another Zora popped up from the water.

"Hey, Hylian."

Aria turned around, not quite used to being called a Hylian.

"Umm.. me? Yes?"

"Gotta letter for ya." Aria gingerly grabbed the letter from the guard. It was a hastily scribbled message from Link stating he wouldn't be able to come back tonight, and she should set up camp in the clearing near the horses.

"Ah, thanks."

The Zora disappeared back into the water, leaving Micah and Aria alone once more.

"Hey, you're pretty good, and ya catch on real quick, a few more sessions and you'll know all I can teach ya. " Micah leaned back against the ground. "I can see why the kid likes ya. Fierce, spirited, and heck-a sexy."

Aria blushed.

"Um, thanks?"

"Yeah. I'd ask you if you wanna go again, but we haven't eaten yet. I'll be right back." Micah rolled off the ground and into the water.

While he was gone, Aria set up a small controlled fire. It wasn't much, but it would keep her warm. Micah came back with two large fish.

"Dinner's up." Aria caught one of the fish and after the not so lengthy process of de-scaling and gutting the thing, they had it roasting away on the fire.

"So, how've you been liking your journeys across Hyrule?"

"It's been… interesting, but I kind of miss home."

"Yeah? Link said you weren't from Hyrule."

"Well yeah, but I never really viewed it as my home. I kind of.., grew really attached to the gerudos."

"The redhead thieves lead by that only male in like a billion years group that live on that dry wasteland?"

"Yeah, I guess that's the one."

"Huh. Anyone in particular? Like a really cute gal?"

"Well… I mean everyone really. I miss everyone." She shrugged. She really did miss everyone she spent time with. She missed her magic teachers. Er- well Koume and Kotake and… and him too even. The way his warm body encased hers, the- She had to stop. Aria glanced at Micah, who'd just finished eating his bit of fish and was staring at her, smiling ever so slightly. He was rather cute, handsome even. His skin looked smooth- gleaming even though it'd been a good while since he'd last been in the waters. He seemed to have 'bangs' made out of what she could only assume was fin, and the tail on the back of his head was rather flexible- something she'd noticed when they were fighting. She'd had to duck to avoid getting hit by it before.

"See something you like?"

"Well… I… Yes, actually."

"Bold. I like it. You don't think Linky boy will mind."

"Why would Link mind?"

"Oh.. nevermind then."

* * *

"Wha-" smooth skin pressed against her lips and silenced her question. He was smooth all over. Hands with hardly any callouses slid her shirt over her head, letting the cool air hit her back. She didn't protest. It'd been so long since she'd last spent that one night in Kakariko village. Thick skin pressed against her own scarred one. His hands were as swift as they were soft, cupping her breast, his thumb brushing teasingly over her nipples.

He pinned her to the ground, raising her hips just enough to pull her pants off. Micah broke the kiss, trailing his tongue across her throat and down to where his hands has just been, taking one of her nipples in his mouth.

Arira whined beneath him, arching into his touch. Her hand traveled to the back of his head, running down it's smooth hide. The zora atop of her groaned softly when she played with the ridges that she could only assume worked like ears. Something slick slid across her thigh and she almost jumped.

"Don't worry babe, I'm just excited to see ya." Micah latched back onto her nipple, suckling and twisting her teat in his mouth, a moan ripping from her throat. She wiggled her hips, undulating against the firm slickness that twitched against her skin.

Micah pulled away.

"Damn babe. You really know how to rile a Zora up." Micah got on his knees, leaning back giving her a good view with what he was working with.

She could see where the slit originated- something she hadn't really noticed when they were sparing. His length was twisted and brightly contrasted against his pale skin. It seemed to bulge in different places, the tip thin and tapered. Aria swallowed hard as he aligned himself.

"Ready to have your world rocked?"

With that he pressed into her. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was certainly different from her other experiences. He slid in very quickly, only slowing when the bulges were pushed into her. It took a few thrusts before she took him to the hilt where the large bulge - which she could only consider as his base- pressed firmly against her. Micah grit his teeth as he adjusted to being inside her.

"Damn babe." Hoarse and so full of arousal, the Zora slowly pulled out before pushing back into her, forcing a soft gasp from her throat. He grabbed her legs and lifted them over his shoulder before pounding into her. Aria clutched the grass, almost ripping the blades out as he pistoned into her over and over again. He moved her other leg to one hand so her thighs squeezed together, creating even more friction. His available hand ran down her stomach before pressing into the top of her folds where they met. She jerked against his suddenly, as his fingers found her nub and began rubbing it slowly at first- with an almost feather light touch, before adding more pressure.

"Yes. Please!" Aria tossed back her head. She arched into his touch. Micah increased the pace, the sound of skin slapping against each other filled the air. Aria turned her head to the side, eyes opening to see a few dark blobs poking out from the water.

"That's right babe. I'm sure they're enjoying watching this almost as much as I'm enjoying taking you." Micah laid a sloppy kiss to the side of her leg before his thrusting became more erratic. Aria whined softly as her world flew apart, the grass in her hands suddenly bursting upwards from the release of her control. The sudden burst of magic didn't spook Micah- too distracted by his own pleasure as he came to a stuttering stop, the appendage slipping from her fold and back into the layer of hide.

Micah collapsed on the ground.

"Damn babe, that was awesome."

Aria looked at the overgrown grass in her hand and couldn't help but giggle. Micah snorted, upon noticing the grass.

"Good thing you didn't set us on fire huh?" Micah grinned at her, flopping to the side. The last thing Aria saw was the campfire dimming ever so slightly.

* * *

The next morning she woke up to the smell of cooked fish. A warm blanket lay over her, and as she leaned up Aria spotted Link sitting by the fire and cooking.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Oh gosh, how late is it?"

"Not very. It's just really foggy up here in the mornings. Your clothes dry and folded on that rock."

"I… thanks."

"Micah's gonna be back in a bit, he had to do patrol duty after you fell asleep last night. He said you were doing really good with the staff."

"Yeah.. his style is a lot more fluid that how I was taught. I'm so used to be tight and in control, so the stances he's been teaching me has been throwing me for a bit of a loop."

"Huh. Well, it's always good to try new things!"

"Yeah.. so you have more quests you need to do today?"

"Yup, they won't take as long as the ones yesterday. Maybe two hours at most. From what Micah said, it shouldn't take you that long to master the stances."

Link stood up and handed her the pile of folded clothes, smiling at her sweetly, before going to check on the horses.

Almost too quickly Aria got dressed, stumbling as she pulled on her pants. By the time Link had returned, she'd finished combing out the knots in her hair and had put it up in a tight bun, and was tightening the wraps she bound herself with before she tossed on the clean shirt. Micah had arrived as well.

Link stayed for a little while, watching the two as they did their stretches and at least a few bits of the first fight, before he donned the blue tunic and once again dove into the lake.

"Feeling sore today?"

"Hardly."

"Oooh babe, that stings a bit. "

"What happened after I passed out?"

"I put a blanket on ya, washed your clothes, and Link came back. He passed out on his roll, and I left for patrol."

"Did you sleep at all?"

"An hour or two, no big. I've got the rest of the day to sleep."

"Should I be worried about you not being able to perform to your fullest as my temporary teacher?"

"Nah, we're good. I don't need a lot of sleep anyways."

"Good to know." Aria lashed out at him with her staff, almost clipping Micah on his cheek.

"Not too shabby this morning! Alright! Let's do this!"

It was three hours later, when the sun had reached the high part of the sky that Micah had been defeated by Arira, her staff hitting the back of his leg on one end, while she pushed forward with the other end which sent him stumbling to the ground.

"Looks like the apprentice has become the master. I can't teach ya much anything else babe."

"Looking good Aria. I knew this would be a good experience for you!" Link cheered from his perch on a rock, where he'd been watching the fight for the last hour.

"Alright. Well lesson over. I gotta get some rest." Micah bowed and fell backwards into the water, disappearing under the surface.

"I'm kinda sad, there's so much water around here, but I haven't really done much with water magic."

"Well, magic just isn't… it's not something that the common person can do. Even Zoras aren't all very magic prone. They have a type of magic, I guess, or else those tunics wouldn't help me breathe underwater- but I think what magic they can enchant is.. It's very limited."

"Yeah, you're right. I do already have a good grasp on water magic anyways… it'd just be nice to practice with someone else who knows what they're doing."

"Hey. I'll show you a pool where you can bath and relax before we head off."

"Home?"

"Yeah. We've got just one more stop."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Hyrule Market. We've got a package to pick up there."


	14. Chapter 14

Aria was astounded by the size of Hyrule's Castle Town. Outside she'd known it would be large, but she didn't realize quite how huge it was until they'd entered the guarded gates. They weren't the same guards that had denied the gerudos entry- at least she didn't think they were? The guards all seemed to look the same, rather lanky in build and their heads covered by the helmets leaving little to no features for the woman to recognize.

The trip there had been uneventful, except for Aria having to discard the saddle Link had given to her. Poor Titan had gotten quite a few saddle sores from the ill-fitted thing and had become reluctant to even let it near his back. Eventually Aria had just tied all the pack in a way that made a vague rectangle shape on the stallion's back- evening out the load.

The two headed through town, having left their horses in the temporary care of the stables outside- there were a few pens set up for horses, and they'd requested the two stick together. The marketplace was a lot bigger than the one the gerudos held. There was a large variety of foods and miscellaneous items at the stalls, that Link didn't have the heart to drag her away. As far as he was concerned, they had time to spare. It just meant more time in her presence. Something, he was sure, he would sorely miss when she was back with her family.

Aria ended up getting a few things, a few bangles, a new belt, and leather arm guards for when she used the bow and arrow. She loved the intricate designs on the leather, something that Link had to explain to her. He told her the story of the Triforce and how it came around, what each symbol and stone meant. It was a rather interesting version, and although it didn't link up to all that the gerudo had told her, it also made some sense as to see both sides of the same coin. She also bought a new set of wraps for binding her chest, her old ones very well used. Link eventually tugged her away from the merchant stalls after a good time.

"Come on that package won't wait forever"

"What's in the package that's so important?"

"It's a surprise."

"Surprise like a fairy in a bottle or more like a chu in your pb&j sandwich surprise?"

"You don't put chus in your sandwiches, maybe chu jelly but not chus themselves."

"Exactly."

"Actually I think the chu would die upon seeing someone come at it with a fork."

"Link that's not the poi-"

" No, No, No. You started this conversation."

"Wait a grass-hacking second, you didn't tell me what's so important about this package."

"Oh would you look at that we're already here!"

"Link!"

"Too late. Let's get the package!"

Aria huffed, following the slightly more obnoxious blond into the store. It was a nice looking shop, most of the items hanging on the back shelf where the manager was, standing erect and twiddling their thumbs, probably a nervous habit of theirs.

"Hello! I'm here from a package from kakariko village. Name is under Link."

"Ah yes, the sa-" Link coughed and motioned towards Aria next to him.

"Oh! Of course, of course! My apologies. Your package is right here." The man behind the counter lifted a large box into the counter. Link handed him a bag of money telling him to keep the change. He hefted it on his shoulder as if it hardly weighed 10 pounds.

When had Link become so… muscled? Why hadn't she noticed in the few months they had been traveling together? at Link some of it made sense. He was cute. Heck, he was extremely handsome and funny, friendly… but he was her friend and that wasn't a line she wanted to cross with him. Maybe being with Micah had just been an unconscious distraction from all of the odd feelings for Link? A flash of red crossed her mind. Or him. The night with Micah hadn't quelled that particular desire. It had let out a bit of stress. That must have been what Nabs was talking about when they went to Kakariko. A stress relief. On the other hand, thinking back on the time spent with Micah, why had she just downright agreed to having sex with him? Sure, it had been a long time but that couldn't nearly be all of it. She almost regretted it now though. Even stressed, it wasn't something she could see herself normally doing often. It didn't mean she didn't enjoy it- she just couldn't see herself doing it as frequently as the other Gerudo. She had been exceptionally bold that night. Maybe it was the joy of not being sick anymore, or finding someone that challenged her training, either way it had been a -she supposed- a lapse In judgment. In the end, Micah would understand a one time fling. He'd probably known they wouldn't see each other again afterwards. However, Link… she had a feeling if she had tried anything with him it wouldn't have ended the same way. She would rather have lost control of her powers and burnt an entire forest down than take advantage of Link and hurt him in that way.

Link lead her through the marketplace and back towards the stable. She supposed it was time to get back on the road.

Their horses looked up from the small round pen they had been grazing in. Titan trotted over snorting enthusiastically. Link lifted the package and let the stallion sniffle it.

"So it's a large package for the horse, huh?"

Link grinned at her teasing. He rubbed Titan's forelock before handing the heavy package to Aria.

"Open it."

"Don't we need to deliver it to someone?"

"Delivery is complete. Open it."

Suspicious, Aria slowly opened the package. It was a saddle, gorgeous with a red saddle pad and trimming. It was clearly made to last.

"Happy Birthday."

"Wha- but it's no-"

"Yeah I know it's not your birthday, but you've been with us for a good while and I just…"

"Us?"

"Ordon, Kakariko, all the time we spent with the Gorons… It's a collaboration effort from all of us, and it's something we knew you would be needing."

"When did you find the time?"

"When you were sick. Titan sure is particular about who touches him. He still almost kicked me when I was getting his measurements. He's a good steed. I wouldn't mind having another one like him around. I'm sure Epona would be up to the task if you ever decide to breed him."

"Wow. I just… Wow. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome! It's been great traveling with you. I kinda wish it could've lasted longer, but I'm sure your family misses you. Just, ya know- should you ever want to visit, or you need a place to stay. Ordon is always open to you."

"Thanks."

"Come on, I bet we can reach the canyon before dusk."

"Oh! Right, of course." Aria blushed and tacked up Titan, who looked all the more proud of a horse with the red furred saddle pad, the red tassels, and the symbol of the triforce gleaming gold in the sunlight right on his chest. It reminded her of the gerudo. Mostly the red of their hair…and one particular Gerudo. Gosh she missed them.

It wasn't like she was trying to replace them, or him, it was just… She didn't know for sure anymore. Would she miss Link as much as she missed her sisters in arms? It's not like she could bring bhim with her. He belonged in Ordon.

"Hey. We'll get you home soon. I promise." Link placed a hand on her shoulder, reading wrong into her expression. Still, Aria smiled and nodded, giving the blond a one armed hug.

With that they took off. The saddle was a perfect fit for the bay stallion. The horse didn't protest, and the fur pad was soft to the touch, easing any strain the saddle could possibly have on the stallion's back. They cantered a good amount of the way, the grass easy on the horses' hooves. The sun had just begun to lower in the sky when they came upon the edges of the plateau that signified they were getting closer towards the gerudo territory.

"HEYYY!"

The froze and turned ever so slightly.

It was blindingly white, rather fast, and had a very irritating voice. They had a large red banner on their back, and Link relaxed. Aria took some time before she understood what the banner meant.

The postman huffed, jogging in place before pulling out a package.

"To a Miss Aria! From a Micah Zora!"

"Oh.. um thank you."

"Of course! Well, gotta run, more letters to deliver."

"Huh. We've hardly been gone two days."

"Well, guess we'll find out when you open it."

Aria untied the bow, catching a small note that tried to flutter away in the wind.

i Heard you talking about magic with Link, Hopefully this fits. It'll amp your base magic ~ Micah

P.s. It goes under the wraps. /i

"Huh. So it helps my magic? Awesome."

"Let's see if it fits!"

Aria raised an eyebrow at Link, smirking.

"Oh. I'm so sorry!" The hylian blushed, the tips of his ears turning red, before he dismounted and turned away.

Aria let out a soft sigh, dismounting. She set her dark cloak on Titan's saddle, before feeling a spark of dark magic. She grasped the spark in the shadows at her feet and pulled it up around her- encasing herself in a box of shadows- difficult to see through. In the privacy of the shadow, she quickly undressed and redressed this time with the blue gift from Micah on- and her new binding wraps over it. It.. it didn't look bad at all. In fact it looked great with the wraps over it- better than if she'd put a shirt on it. Over it she strapped on her belt, which now had blue leather straps attached to it. It took even more effort getting the shadows to dispers. Of all the magic she'd done, shadow and darkness tended to be the most clingy- desperate for any attention.

"Whoa. That was cool. I mean, you look great! That shadow thing was really awesome though!"

"T-Thanks." Aria rubbed the back of her head, her legs shaking slightly.

"Sure takes a lot out of you though."

"I don't…" She took a few moments to get a hold of herself. "I don't normally work with shadow magic. It's really clingy and difficult to control."

"Ahh. Well. It was amazing, and you look amazing. Let's get to the bridge and make camp."

"Yeah. That's probably for the best."

Setting up for the night right across from the bridge, they noticed it had a few more ropes added and even a few planks on one side.

"Looks like repairs are finally under way, but I don't see how you're going to get across."

"Well.. you.. your horse jumps it."

"Titan? He jumped that? Is that how you… fell?"

"Yeah. I know we can jump it though. I think we took the jump too early, and he was just so tired. I know we can do it tomorrow."

Titan rubbed his head against Aria's arm, as if knowing exactly what they were talking about. The stallion knew they were close to home. They'd make it this time.

The rest of their night passed by silently. Hardly anyone came to this side of Hyrule, except for the workers, and their tent was set up on the other side- however they managed that, Aria hadn't a clue. It was quite a few hours before the sun rose. Aria nudged Link awake.

"Hey. I'm gonna head home. You should too- it'll be too hot soon."

Link nodded, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Aria had finished tacking Titan, and the stallion was more than eager to take off. If there was one thing she wouldn't miss, it would be being mistaken for a Hylian.

"See you again some day, blondie" Aria grinned, kissing Link quick before she hopped on Titan's back and they took off like a rocket. Link was in a slight daze for a few moments, pressing his fingers to his lips, before he realized what she was doing. He stood up to see the bay and blue-black blur rush past him and then leap into the air right at the edge of the bridge's base. He let loose a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding in when he saw they actually made it across safely.

"Yeah.. soon I hope." 

The desert didn't take long to heat up- and hour or two at best, and Aria forced Titan to slow down and take it easy. The stallion knew exactly where they were headed, and she knew if she allowed him to- the bay horse would run his heart out- to the point of breaking just to get home. She was excited too, but she didn't forget that it took at least two days of riding to reach the small desert town that they called home.

It must've been some time since there had been people at the oasis last. It looked practically untouched by humans, the pool quite a bit smaller than last she'd seen. It seemed like the land was taking a toll- and it was leaning towards the winter. The oasis should have been overflowing- touching the base of the trees. Such a harsh summer it must've been.

Aria dismounted, and ran her hand through the water, pulling on the depths of the oasis. It… it was connected to something, something larger and rushing beneath the sands- deeper beneath the sands. Aria closed her eyes, focusing on the pull of the magic, letting her mind flow into it like the water. She undressed and waded into the water, eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, she dove down. It didn't seem very far- the only minor issue being that she was running out of air- which was fixed by manipulating the element of water and it's connection with air. She took a quick gulp of air before reaching the bottom, where she could feel the rushing of water.

The water wasn't trickling out, but trickling in? She pressed her hand against the thin crack. There was a river? There was a river beneath the oasis! It must've been very old, untouched for years! She couldn't see the sparks- eyes closed now, but she could feel them, and she grabbed the one that felt like earth and willed it to crumble, to disintegrate to sand. It did so, and then she was overcome by a sudden rush of water bubbling in her direction.

She gasped for air as she surfaced, the water now licking at the base of the tree. Titan snorted, relaxed at her sudden appearance. She re-dressed, ignoring how her clothes stuck to her and hopped on Titan's back, not before refilling her canteen and letting the stallion get a good drink in.

The desert sun easily dried her clothes as she journey towards the village. It took three days to reach the entrance of the village. The guards weren't posted, and there seemed to be a huge commotion in the center of the town- towards the arenas.

"Alright! Are all entrants signed up?"

Aria dismounted and strode to the front of the crowd, a hush falling amongst them. She knew how they were. The tournament was supposed to be a private event. As far as they were concerned she had snuck in and they would play it off until the end, where it would matter the most.

"I'll join." Her voice muffled by her cloak.

"Ahh, a stranger! You cannot enter without a horse."

"I have a horse." She pointed towards Titan. There were a few whispers in the crowd, the tenseness growing.

"I don't know where you got that horse, stranger, but if you lose… you may just lose it and your life." Nabooru growled softly, just enough that Aria and anyone nearby could hear her, recognizing Titan by the crescent on his head.

"Alright! Now that we have all our contestants! Let the tournament begin! First challenge! Horseback archery!"

Shoot, well she hadn't had much practice with her bow as of late, but when she gripped the sturdy wood- it was like all those lessons came back in a blink of the eyes, the familiar weapon bending to her will. It took a good while to go through all the entrants, and she was the last one to go- she mounted Titan and magicked her hood to stay over her head. She didn't know why she was hiding her identity, but it just seemed like the thing to do. She didn't want them to stop the tournament on her behalf, although she sorely missed the lot of them.

Titan huffed impatiently as they trotted a few laps, before Nabooru gave the signal. They were off, flying by the targets like the wind- she breathed in, breathed out- shot. It was as if time slowed each time she did this- her memory serving her graciously.

"Perfect score!" Aria grinned. They'd been going so fast! She was only one of a few that had a perfect score, but that wasn't the only thing that would make the tournament winner.

Obstacle courses- both for human and horse.

Javelin toss.

Swordplay.

Staff skills.

Last, but not least, hand to hand combat.

Each one of these she practically flew through. It helped, that she knew most of the women that she faced off- knew how they moved, was taught how they fought. Aria realized very quickly in most of these fights she had the advantage of being trained other techniques.

It came down the hand to hand combat.

Faruin stood in the corner from her, pacing. She could tell her friend had grown in the past months. She had several new scars marring her features, but surely she was the same Faruin? They met in the center and bowed to each other, green eyes meeting gold. For a moment Faruin's eyes widened, but quickly narrowed- as if Aria's presence provoked her. Aria saw it coming, and quickly caught Faruin's hand that had struck forward- trying to rip off her hood.

"You'll have to try harder than that."

"By the time I'm done with you, you'll wished you'd never come here, or found that horse."

"I doubt it."

Faruin yelled, and lunged after her. Aria side-stepped her attack with ease, blocking the whirling kicks and punches that came next. Faruin had absolutely improved since she'd last seen her. There was a lot more force in those strikes- and Aria knew she wasn't holding back.

Aria blocked the rapid attacks for a good while, before giving into her urge to end the fight as quickly and as painlessly as possible. She caught Faruin's wrist, and before the gerudo could sweep her feet out from under her, Aria had her pinned to the ground with her knee- Faruin's wrist twisting painfully behind her back, while the gerudo's other hand

"Yield."

"Never!"

"Yield."

"You'll have to kill me first."

"Enough! Faruin, you've lost. The stranger has won hand to hand combat." Nabooru intervened, and Aria instantly let go of Faruin's wrist, jumping out of the way as Faruin stood up- trying once more to grab her hood.

"Stranger, you've reached the semi-finals. Faruin, you also have reached the semi-finals. The semi-finals allow magic, and any weapon you personally own. You have 30 minutes to rest and prepare."

Aria nodded and strode off in the direction of Titan, who had trotted a ways off when a few of the gerudo had tried to grab him while Aria was busy. Amazing, how the stallion knew this was his home, but still refused to let the other gerudos take him away from Aria while she was incognito.

She didn't eat much, but she did stretch out her muscles and re-wrap her hands. She tossed her shoulder pauldrons into her packs. She knew Aviel and Nabooru would be on their guard. Speaking of her friends, she still hadn't seeing their King since she'd arrived. Wouldn't he have been the one to allow her to compete? Maybe they were setting up a grand entrance for him?

Thirty minutes went by rather quickly when you were preparing for one of the hardest battles in your life. Hood up, she joined the crowd.

Faruin was up first. She certainly didn't make it look easy. She must have been training with Aveil though, or Aveil was going easy on her, because they moved like dances across the sand arena. Like two felines, they twisted and turned, punches thrown, kicks landing. Aveil won, but Faruin was still allowed onto the next round. This was where two gerudos grabbed her shoulders.

"You're not allowed to see the battle with Nabooru, that would be cheating." Aria nodded.

"Of course. I will be by my horse, when my turn comes." The gerudo seemed rather shocked that she was so complacent, but said nothing else- instead returning to their positions watching the fight. There was certainly a lot of noise coming from the direction of the arena. Aria looked up a few times, mostly when the crowd gasped or loudly cheered.

She knew it was over when the two gerudo from before came for her.

First was Aveil. Aveil had a few scrapes and cuts on her shoulder, but didn't look too bad.

"Long time no see."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if you think you can win this, you're dead wrong. Mostly dead." Aveil growled as she made the first move. Aria dodged to the side, but Aveil was obviously expecting it- going through with the rest of her punch, turning in to it. Aria hissed softly as it made contact with her side. Instead she grabbed a staff that was on the ground, spun it, and motioned for Aveil to come at her.

Aveil grabbed another staff laying on the ground and struck again.

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

"You- i huff/i don't look like a friend."

"Oh? Maybe you should look closer."

"Maybe… I… Will!" Aveil pushed forward, trying to slam the staff in Aria's face, but Aria was ready for the attack, blocking with one end, leaning backwards, while slamming the bottom end into the back of Aveil's knee. Aveil yelped and crumpled to the ground. Before she could get the chance to get back up, the end of the staff was pressed slightly into her neck.

"End." Aria pulled her staff away and offered her hand to help Aveil up. Aveil looked between her hand and the hooded face, eyes flickering between the two before she reluctantly allowed Aria to help her to the feet. The crowd was dead silent.

It was a while before Nabooru spoke.

"Stranger. You have defeated General Aveil. You are clearly a great fighter, but you are no match for me. Do you yield, and we may spare your life."

"I do not yield. I will fight you. I will fight the strongest you have to give me."

"So be it."

Nabooru jumped into the arena. Aria was given no time to think as a spear came straight for her head. She rolled forward to dodge it, turning on her heel just in time to catch the bladed end with a staff. The staff- one of the training ones- splintered and Arira tossed it forward as she moved to avoid the blade piercing her.

Nabooru was relentless. She was fierce, and she was angry. Aria kicked off weighted shoes as quickly as possible, rolling out of the way of another attack. At least now she had a chance. The sand was hot against her feet, burning even.

"Anything goes?"

"Everything goes."

"As you wish." Aria darted out of the way, and behind her a trail of fire burst from the sand. Nabooru shouted, jerking away from the fire.

"What.. who? Who are you?!"

"You'll find out soon."

"Damn you…" Nabooru rubbed what Aria could only assume was sand, from her eyes before lunging back at her opponent. Aria ducked, grabbing the wood of the spear and gave a burst of power to its spark. The wood twisted, turning green, the metal blade of the spear falling uselessly to the ground.

Nabooru rushed forward, landing a punch on Aria's gut. So she was going hand to hand now? Aria was fine with that. Aria did her best to block and return the punches where she could. Nabooru was very tight and controlled in her fury- and her openings were easy to spot, it was just very difficult to hit them in such close combat, especially with how quick Nabooru was throwing her punches.

Still, Aria got the upperhand after a while- both sweating and panting. Nabooru's anger was fading, and with it- the force of her punches. They'd been fighting for a good hour or two, and it was wearing on them. Aria got a good knock on Nabooru's head and the older woman stumbled. It was just enough for Aria to press forward her attack and bring Nabooru to her knees.

"End it."

"What? It's over already."

"I mean. End me. You've won. Finish it."

"Shut up, don't be stupid."

"You've won- don't gloat about it."

"I haven't won. These were the semi-finals right? Where's the final fight?"

"Gone. You won."

"Gone. Gone?" Aria pulled her cloak off, ignoring the collective gasp.

"Where is your strongest fighter? Where is Ganondorf?"


	15. Chapter 15

"Aria? But.. you were dead."

"We thought you were dead!"

"Quick someone call Koume and Kotake!"

And then she was engulfed by hugs. They yelled and cried, and she was passed around like a party favor, each person she'd spent even an inkling of time with had to hug her, some she had yet to properly meet yet. Faruin punched her arm, blushing, then hugged her before Aria was dragged to the great hall by Nabooru. Koume and Kotake were being lead out of their quarters, looking dead tired. They gaped in shock as Aria came before them.

"What sorcery-"

"-magic-"

"-trickery-

"It's neither of those things. I live. It's not magic, it's not an illusion. I survived the fall."

"How?"

"That, I don't know. I do know that I drifted in the river for a good while. I woke up in a small forest town, and the people took care of me- got me back on my feet, and helped me get home after I healed."

"We found…" 

"Bones. Clothing.."

"A lot of my stuff disappeared into the waters I guess. I didn't have much on me- but I helped around town a bit, earned some money before I came home. But, nevermind all that. Where's my mentor?"

"Mentor? We're?"

"I mean, where is King Ganondorf?"

"He is.. The war.."

"He's still out fighting the other kingdom?"

"No. I think you better sit down for this," Koume nodded to the seat, and Aria followed suit.

"Koume, Kotake, she won the tournament! She could save-"

"Nabooru. Return to the tournament, hand out prizes. We'll deal with that later."

"But… as you wish, my liege." Nabooru bowed her head, turned on her heel and left the room.

"Ganondorf?"

"He was caught up in the fight against the kingdom.. They brought very strong mages. He was captured"

"They changed him."

"Then they set him upon his own troops."

"We had to catch him."

"Took him to the Spirit Temple."

"He's in chains. Doesn't recognize his own mothers. His own people."

"It's very strong magic."

"He's lost his mind."

"Where is the Spirit temple?" Aria stared down the floating twins.

"It's across the wasteland. W-"

"We have a map."

"Don't do anything stupid." Koume handed her the map.

Aria smiled. "Too late." She grabbed the map and walked out of the room, the twins staring after her.

"You're leaving already?"

"You can't go! You just got here.!"

"I have to. I need to find King Ganondorf."

"We'll take you there. We won't go in, but we'll take you there."

"Now."

"If that's what you wish, though I'm not sure what you'll do when you get there, but it's worth a try." They packed up their horses. Titan huffed, but allowed himself to be tacked and mounted once more. It was sunset by the time they left, Nabooru leading the way, Aveil riding to the right of Aria. The horses trudged in the darkness, ignoring the glowing lanterns of the poes cackling in the distance.

Aria wavered in her seat for a bit, before slumping over, her head resting on Aveil's shoulder. The older woman didn't mind a bit, patting Aria's back fondly. The cold desert night wind whipped at their faces, keeping the older ladies awake for the most part. They reached a dried up oasis at the edge of a large carved mountain- which Aria realized was the entrance to the Spirit temple.

"Wish me luck."

"Good luck. You'll need it." Aria nodded before striding through the doors. She followed the large pools of blood on the ground- slightly dried.

"Ganondorf?:

A shadow emerged from the side of the room. It was gigantic, and angry. The large canine creature lunged for her and Aria raced away from the giant beast- only realizing that it was chained. Golden and red mixed eyes stared at her, drool dripping from the black maw.

"What is this?" The canine growled once more, creeping towards her, straining against its boundaries. It couldn't quite reach her, giving her the opportunity to look at the growling slobbering beast. He looked starved, a hint of his spine showing, his ribs gaunt. He lunged towards her, the chains rattling and she could hear the sound of something splintering. The fur around his neck was clumped together from blood. Some of it was fresh.

Nabooru came in.

"He's been like this for months. Two after we thought you dead."

"He?"

"That is Ganondorf."

Aria stared a good hard minute at him before blinking. The vision around her changed. This place was bright, sacred even. It glowed like the moon and sparkled like the stars on a moonless night. Where the beast stood… the magic was terrifying. Shadows and power were corrupted. His normally neat and intricate words of arcane were twisted and balled together. Chains of arcane were tied to the beast. A few of them had been ripped.

"He.. He's…"

"Is he saveable? Or would it be better to mercy kill him?" the beast lunged at Nabooru, as if knowing exactly what she was saying.

"No. We can fix this. I can see the problem. I just.. I need… have you heard of the Cave of Ordeals?"

"Yeah. It's not far from here, but its long since been abandoned. How is that going to help is fix our king?"

"Just trust me."

"Alright. I'll show you the way. Come on." The left the gruesome snarling beast, meeting Aveil outside the temple. She asked the same questions as Nabooru, but Aria shrugged and said that the Cave of Ordeals could be her only hope at getting answers.

"Has he eaten?"

"Soldiers that tried to take over the temple, but other than that- no. The mages that cursed him, they didn't know what they were doing or something- instead of controlling him, they turned him into a mindless, willful beast that killed and ate everything in sight. Killing, being the priority. Including them."

"So the mages are dead then, and the curse they put upon him didn't disintegrate."

"Yeah."

"That must have been some of the broken links. It's hooked onto his own magic and he is his own enemy in this situation."

"Koume and Kotake-"

"- aren't more powerful than their son. They know a good bit of magic, but not enough in the right areas."

"Oh? You think you're more powerful than those two?"

"No. Just different. Not all magic is the same. It's like.. Fighting. You can't duplicate an individual's exact form and movement- nor their experiences in life, what makes them the fighter that they are- though you can know the same fighting moves."

"So what does that make Koume and Kotake?"

"Masters in Ice and Fire, experienced enough to start others in subjects they don't have mastered, like shadows, nature, rock."

'And our king?"

"Powerful. He's so… he's so powerful, and he knows the shadows so well that they just cling to him naturally. He knows a bit of water and everything… except plant and life. He doesn't... He can't touch life magic and light."

"So.. you could bring someone back to life?"

"What? No. Life magic is more like.. Like healing. You can't just make someone come back to life, but if they're near death- you can keep them holding on long enough for actual help to come. It's.. a bit complicated- and life isn't something I've messed with before. It's dangerous."

"So what can we do?"

" Feed him for one. Monster meat, cow, anything you can toss at him. The less hungry the closer we can get to him."

"Looks like he'll eat a lot."

" I guess there are a lot of monster needing to be killed then. Try to get the rest of the tribe in on it."

They had arrived at the Cave of Ordeals.

"Only one person can enter it at a time. Here, this will get you in." Nabooru handed her an odd red pendant that Aria fastened to her belt.

"Be careful."

"I will, just start the hunt for food for the king while I'm gone." Aria left hearing Aveil's voice echo behind her as the odd glowing barrier allowed her through.

"Why does it feel like we're sending her to her death?"

Aria left them behind, going to the first 'room'. It was a single bokoblin that had yet to notice her. She slammed down on it from above, and it poofed away- as though it were an illusion. The second room was filled with keeses, flying hook-tailed pests that zeroed in on her within moments. One caught her on the shoulder and she winced, slamming her staff into one just before it could get her. It disappeared in a poof just like the bokoblin.

Every room was the same, there was a small cliff in which she could sort of see what enemies she would be facing, usually some pest. Bokoblins, skulltas, rodents, keese, torch slugs, all the way to overly aggressive Lizalfos.

It wasn't that difficult.

The tenth room she came upon held a fountain, glowing pink fairies swirled around in the water. One flew over to her, pressing into her skin- filling her with an odd sort of comforting warmth. The aching pain in her shoulder where the keese had hit her had suddenly dissolved into nothing. The swirling fairies circled her for a few moments before disappearing into water of the fountain.

There was no voice, no real encouragement to go on further. She frowned, looking around. Wasn't this the safe place, the end of the road? Was she meant to bring the large canine-esque creature that was Ganondorf here?

Before her was another door. Well, she had no way to go back, so she stretched as best she could and entered the next room. More beasts, more enemies that just got larger and larger. Eventually it was no longer her going to a cliff to figure out her opponents. Sometimes her foes dropped from the ceiling. Or like the Iron Knuckles they stalked the room before they spotted her- sometimes they spotted her before the door finished opening. Those were probably the worst moments in going through the doors, she'd have to somehow make the floor slick with ice, knowing armor didn't have very good traction, or it'd be a lot of ducking and sliding through various types of floor- usually stone or sand- from very heavy weapons that were swung around as if one was twirling an arrow between their fingers.

The iron knuckles scared her the most. Sure bokoblins, odd statues that came to life and tried to trample you down if you got too close, and giant hands that tried to grab you and put you who-knows-where, were all enemies that weren't to be easily trifled with, but it was just something about the iron knuckles… It was like they were more than just spirits in armor- each one was different, and individual person in a suit and they all fought so much like the gerudo. So very much like the people she'd been viewing as her family. At one point an iron knuckle had almost gotten her, Aria ducking just out of reach when the giant axe came swinging towards her head. She could've sworn she'd seen a bit of red hair falling through one of the slits in the armor.

Aria had lost count of how many doors she went through. The next room was empty. There were no fountains, no monsters, no statues. She tapped each wall, checked each torch. Aria pressed her aura outwards- as if the energy would tell her something was close.

All was quiet.

"What is this Bombskit shit?" She cursed, flopping on the ground. Her muscles ached, her clothes were torn. Sweat covered her skin to the point it looked like she'd just taken a dip in Hylia lake. Aria huffed, dropping her staff and falling to her knees.

"You told me to come here when I was ready. I beat your trials. I've gone the distance."

Silence. She couldn't even hear the persistent howling of the desert wind anymore. Aria punched the dirt, tears streaming down her cheeks. She hiccuped softly, trying to stave off the unhelpful sobbing. Crying would get them nowhere, but what was she doing wrong? Where was she to go. How was she supposed to save the man she…cared for.

"Can't anyone fix this? Please? Help us."

A soft white light filtered in from above. A small fleck of it landed on her skin, warm and cold at the same time. It melted into her skin, like fire burning paper from below, the edges expanded- edges glowing bright and spreading across her skin, leaving a trail of light.

Aria looked up, a fleck touching her nose. It spread all over her face, and for a moment her eyes hurt as she tried to stare at the light above.

i You have done well, Traveler. Your cry for help has not gone unheard. I am the great fairy."/i A woman floated down towards her. She had very vibrant pink hair and equally vibrant lavender eyes. Her outfit seemed to mostly be made up of leaves, covering but not concealing. Her wings were wide and translucent.

"Can't you help them? Fix him?"

"The King Ganondorf has been consumed by darkness, has refused the light in itself."

"That doesn't answer my question," Aria snarled at the ethereal being before her.

"No, it does not. You have been strong and brave- well beyond what was expected of you, but will it be enough?" The pink haired woman giggled, floating above Aria.

"I need to be enough."

The fairy frowned, peering down at her. "I did not say you weren't. I did not say you were. I'm not quite sure that you're ready for this."

"I need… I want to be ready for this. I want to save him."

"If it was his life for yours, would you still save him?"

"Yes."

"You would take his place in chains, knowing that his people could ignore you so much easier than him. They can live without you, so easily forget you for dead."

"If it would save him."

"You are a fool. Brave, but still a fool. He is destined for great change."

"Change isn't bad."

"Change isn't always good either."

"Sometimes change is needed to thrive, to save lives."

The great fairy regarded her silently, twirling in the air.

"He must recognize you. Your key to 'saving" that ibeast/i is to have him know who you are. When it is 'safe' to touch him… you must reach into his aura and unravel the chains of darkness- replace it with something of yours."

"I understand."

"I don't believe you quite do, but that is a discussion for another time. Someone has brought you here to be blessed, and so you shall be."

"Someone? Who? Who gave me those dreams? The visions?"

"Of that, I am not allowed to answer."

"Allowed?"

"No matter. I bless you with an enhancement to your current abilities. May you always have the stamina to look beyond the chains of magic and wisdom to look into one's heart. I pray your choices to not change the world for worse." With that the fairy spun and disappeared into the ray of light.

A door that previously hadn't been there opened up. Aria grabbed her staff and blindly walked into the light. She was back in the sandy desert, alone. Well, not entirely alone. Titan trotted over to her, the bay stallion bending his head to snuffle at her side. She patted his head, rubbing the horse's black tipped ears. It was almost dark and monsters would be out. The fortress would be too far off. Aria lifted herself into the saddle.

"Be swift, darkness will be upon us soon." She nudged Titan who took off towards the spirit temple. The beasts of the night were beginning to make noise as the sun's final rays disappeared beneath the horizon when they reached the temple. Aria lead the horse into the temple- though there was probably once a place for horses to go, she took him into the main entrance, where she sealed the door behind them after lighting the braziers.

Titan snorted wildly, upon hearing the thundering growl of the black beast in the other room.

"Shh.. it's okay. Just rest, big boy." She ran her hands through his coarse hair, before setting the tack on a railing.

Aria made her way into the room that held the former gerudo king. The beast lunged at her, snarling. She almost took a step back, listening to the walls groan under the weight of the beast's chained body.

"What a mess you've gotten into." She mumbled softly, sitting down outside the reach of the large beast. It took a few hours before she could fall asleep to the sounds of the barking and growling, but somehow she did it. Despite the tainted form, he still had the same aura, that comforting power that could only be described as Ganondorf.

It was some hours before dawn when Aria woke up to something. It was quiet.

It was quiet.

She half-jerked forward, opening her eyes wide. The black and red beast that was Ganondorf laid on the ground, fast asleep. He wouldn't be asleep for long, so Aria snuck away, out of the temple and into the darkness.

She returned just before daylight, Titan in tow. Several chopped up monsters were swung on the stallion's back, mostly Moldorms, Leevers, and the pig-like Bullbos. She carefully set out the meat- some of it to dry in the heat of the sun and then a few she roasted over one of braziers.

The beast was drooling when she came in to see it. She supposed she couldn't have expected him to be 'tame' at just the smell or sight of food. Instead the beast tried even harder to lunge at her. She sighed and sat back down in her corner, waiting with the steaming meat- still too hot to eat, too hot to carry- she had it wrapped up in a thick cloth.

The hunk of meat sat on her lap for a long while. The beast had stopped lunging, but was instead pacing, huffing and growling. Whenever she would make eye contact, he would snap his jaws at her.

"You are ridiculous Ganondorf. For once, why can't you.." Aria huffed. The beast tilted it's head when she talked.

"You and your damn pride. You just had to leave without talking to me. You couldn't just.. We had one argument. One. You just. You are so ridiculous." She glared at him. He was silent, head tilted as he stared at her. Abruptly she tossed the meat in his direction. His golden eyes widened and he pounced on it, instantly ripping into the meat. It was hardly a few mouthfuls. He turned back to her, snarling. She sat back down, huffing. She would wait for his slobbering- starve-addled antis to calm down before she gave him another large chunk of meat. She couldn't just toss huge portions of food at him. That would only encourage him to demand or try to 'scare' the food away from her, and he'd get sick from overeating.

This went on for several days. She spoke to him, sometimes she even would sing softly as she tossed chunks of meat to him. It was a long process. Most nights she would go out hunting for the food, but then members of the gerudo began to show up with meat- mostly from monsters.

He always reacted poorly to seeing the others. A few would have to stifle their cries of fear, but all of them left rather quickly. Only Nabooru and Aviel were willing to stand there and allow him to have his tantrum at them.

"He's getting stronger with the food. I'm not sure how you're keeping him watered though.."

"I took down one of braziers, cleaned it up, and I've been manipulating the water to fill it. I got it close enough for him to drink out of when he was sleeping before I filled it."

"Wow, talk about miracles." Aviel rubbed the back of her neck staring at Ganondorf who strained against his bonds.

"What are you going to do though, when he's strong enough to tear down the walls? He's still a vicious monster right now." Ganondorf howled in rage at that and Aria was sure she heard the pillar crack.

"He's not himself, but that doesn't make him a monster. I'll figure it out. There's a cure, I know it- but it's going to take time."

"I'm not sure we have time."

"We have to make it then. I can't rush his trust. I can't rush the magic to heal him, or force him to trust me."

"I know… I just hope it isn't too late for him."

"Me too."


	16. Chapter 16

"Are you okay out here?"

"Hmm?" Aria turned to look at the concerned Aviel. The gerudo laid a hand on her shoulder, bright eyes wide and worried.

"Out here, alone, with him? If this were any other situation- if he were himself, I wouldn't be worried about you being eaten alive- well not literally, but… you don't have to do this alone."

"Thank you. I… You guys are already helping by just bringing the food to feed him. I.. I... " she sighed."it might be some time before I can get him to accept me- let alone to stop snarling at the presence of anyone else. I wish I could just magically turn the world upside down and cure the magical bindings, but.. I can't."

"It gets cold at night here…"

"It does."

"Wouldn't you want someone, anyone, me even, to keep you warm?"

Aria blushed .

"I would, but.. I can't." Aria glanced towards the doorway where Beast Ganondorf was waiting for her, growling softly. He was always growling. "I'll be fine. Really. You guys go on."

"Be careful." Aviel leaned forward and kissed Aria's forehead before walking away, back towards the group waiting to head back to the village. Belatedly, Aria realized she could have asked them if they had any spare blankets.

Ganondorf ceased growling. Aria sighed, rubbing the back of her neck before walking into the room with him. He snorted at her before he laid down, watching her almost calmly as she entered the room. He didn't stand at her presence, didn't growl, just stared at her, huffing and grunting occasionally. She wanted the others to stay. They should stay, they'd known him so much longer than she had and it would make sense that his siblings and cousins, his biological family that had grown up with him- would be able to break this curse on him.

Was he just being prideful, not wanting them to see him in such a painful situation? Or did he not truly recognize them anymore? How could he spend so very little time with her, but still growl when the gerudos came to visit and help?

"You know, eventually you're going to have to chill when others come here. I know you're still mr grumpy pants about me- but you grew up with these women. You've known them your entire life and you can't even bother to at least let them into the temple without being a jerk." Aria scolded him. The canine-like beast tilted his head before yawning and curling up- to the best of his chained ability- into a ball where he seemed to pass out. Ignored. Of course.

The next day she decided to try something different. Instead of giving the meat to him, she waited for him to calm down. He was always a little 'excited' and demanding when it came to the food. Once he had stopped pacing and was staring at her, rather incredulously. 

"Good, now this is going to be a little weird, but you need to be patient for your food. I promise you're going to get it. I promise i'm not going to keep anything from you, but we need to work together." Slowly she took a step forward. The giant black and red beast froze in his place. The corner of his lips quirked ever so slightly and she froze in place, watching him.

They stared each other down for a while before he seemed to relax, licking his chops and staring at the meat in her hands.

Aria took another step forward. She knew she'd just crossed the line in which he could lunge- and f he did, she was dead meat. She was certain he knew it. He might be a beast- but that didn't mean he wasn't intelligent. He watched her carefully, letting her take another step forward, before he made his own move.

He laid down, so that he was on eye-level with her. A bit of drool was hanging from his maw, but he didn't move except to blink as she walked even closer- she'd almost stepped backwards at him laying down, it had surprised her so. He licked his chops once more, tongue almost so close she could feel a hint of slobber flecking out from the movement, and then she was in perfect reach for him.

She offered the meat to him, and in the process almost lost a few fingers, because he deftly snatched it from her hands and devoured it in an instant turning away from her as best he could- protecting his meal from her like a common stray. He whirled back to her and for a fearful moment she believed that was the end of it.

He whined at her.

Actually whined.

"Ganondorf.." Aria spoke softly, reaching her hand out slowly towards his nose. He went a little cross eyed as her hand gently touched his wet nose.

His stomach growled loudly, and Aria quickly walked back to the safe-place, grabbing more food for him. From then on she began hand feeding him. He was generally very gentle with her, but she stayed close to the line, never pressing into his territory more than she had to anymore. It wasn't like he begged for her to touch him, just the food she gave him like clock-work, slowly increasing the amount over the weeks.

It seemed like things were beginning to work out, but… when she tried to touch him on the nose he would back away, whine, and sometimes growl. The growling was becoming less frequent.

She'd been there for nearly four months.

The nights were getting colder. The days were getting shorter. Despite being in the desert, Titan had begun to grow his weighty winter coat. Aria was getting a bit slower when she was cold- hunched over near the braziers trying to stay warm- even though fuel was running low. She spent most of her day with Ganondorf, talking to him while she tried to understand the curse that was put on him. Sometimes she just spoke of her days spent with Nabooru and Aria when they were training her, other times she mentioned her not-too-long journey across Hyrule. She talked about the gorgeous lake and ponds that the Zora swam in, the forest- lush with leaves, how the Goron were so strong. Whatever she talked about, she talked to him, let him acclimate to her voice. Sometimes he seemed rather interested, other times he yawned, curled away from her, and fell asleep- just letting her talk to the air before she too fell asleep.

She didn't sleep as much as she wanted to most nights. The cold crept in upon them every night, like a thick blanket of cold fog. She would wake up shivering and have to find her way back to the tack bag where she'd tug on an extra layer of clothing, and Titan's saddle blanket.

It was on one of these cold nights that something broke into the temple. It attacked her as she slept. Her horse had gotten away rather quickly, but the beast- whatever it was, as it was too dark for her to see, had gone straight for her. It let out an soul-freezing shriek and her mind went blank as it slammed down on her leg with a heavy weapon. Aria screamed. It wasn't the only one in the room. There were at least seven of the things, and each time she tried to crawl away one of them screamed. She wished she could move- wished their scream didn't make her blood run cold.

The beast ganondorf jerked awake and slammed forward against the column. He howled, snarled and lunged once more. The column cracked. The chains dug into his fur and he grit his fangs, rushing forward even harder upon hearing Aria scream again.

The columns holding him shattered. He rushed forward into the next room, breaking through the wall and striking down the redead knights or gibidos.. Or whatever these mummy- monsters were. Aria couldn't really focus. The giant canine beast tore through them quickly- biting them near in half before they could shriek. He spat out the parts- probably didn't taste too great.

In moments the mummy-monsters were all dead and there was a loose Ganondorf beast. Aria lay there on the ground- half in shock, half in pain. If it wasn't broken, her leg was certainly fractured. A dark figure loomed over her and she couldn't move as she was stared down by Ganondorf's monstrously huge form.

He leaned down over her, sniffing, golden eyes watching her every breath. She was almost certain she was dead at this point- had to be.

He snarled above her, his golden eyes glaring down at her. She closed her eyes as he went for her. A loud crunched echoed in her head.

This must be what death felt like.

It hurt.

Her leg seared with pain, but when she opened her eyes, she was still breathing. Aria glanced below her. One of the redead knights had still been clinging to her body. It had dug its nails into her skin and when Ganondorf pulled it off her, it had tried to take her leg with it.

It could have been worse.

She honestly expected to be dead. She didn't expect Ganondorf to save her from them. She didn't know what to think anymore. Except that he was staring down at her with his golden eyes. They were at an odd sort of standstill. He could kill her.

"Ganondorf?" She spoke softly. Her throat was hoarse from screaming and then being too paralyzed to scream.

The dark head dipped down, closer to her, his mouth opening slowly. Was this it? Would her last sight be of him chomping down on her upper half? A blue tongue slipped over her wounded leg and she hissed softly. He jerked his head back, paced the large room for a few moments before he sat down staring at her.

"It's not you. You're fine baby, I'm just.." she hissed again as she tried to move her leg. It was absolutely fractured. She could move it, but it hurt to move it. There was no break in the skin, but she didn't have the energy to try and heal it herself. Not yet.

Ganondorf laid down on the ground next to her, his large head close to her leg. He was so much larger up close.

"Do you… know who I am?" She spoke softly, hoping for any sign, anything that could tell her what the Great Fairy had meant, or how to fix this form. She had never seen anything like this before.

No response.

What could she expect from a beast?

He wasn't a common beast, but he was still a beast.

"So uh… you remember that time in the bathing pools… you know when we trained with the water?" Golden eyes watched her, unblinking. "I liked it, you know, the kiss? I've been so afraid of dealing with these feelings. I mean, you're a King basically, you've had a wife, children possibly even. Who am I to come into your life and just…" She sighed, shaking her head.

The giant canine blinked.

"I wish you could understand me. I wish…" She sighed and leaned back against the cold stone. She would have to fix the mess another day. Could she even fix this mess herself? The Great Fairy had seemed to doubt it.

The next morning came quickly. Aria felt like she'd hardly gotten any sleep, but when she woke up- she woke up warm. She must've been grabbed in the middle of the night and brought back to the fortress. They didn't normally use a lot of animal pelts for blankets as far as she knew, but whatever beast's fur they used it was thick and warm, exuding its own heat.

Aria jolted away, well she tried to anyways. Her leg was still throbbing in pain, but there was a pressure on it that seemed to dull it a bit. She had a warm heavy paw on her lower half and she was resting against the back of another paw.

"Ganondorf?" She whispered.

Golden eyes slowly opened, peering down at her. The events of last night raced through her head. He had saved her. Was it because he remembered, or because the last few nights she'd been bringing and cooking him food, nursing a wild beast back to health despite it's enraged nature?

She gasped in pain when he removed his paw from it's position on her leg. He tucked his paw back up under his own leg, and she lifted herself so she could examine the damage. It wasn't broken, but the fracture didn't help. Her leg had swelled a bit in the night. She wasn't a healer. She could dress most wounds, but she'd never dealt with trying to fix a broken leg, or to speed up that type of healing. She wasn't sure what magic to use, did she try fire? No she could set herself ablaze on accident. There was the soft light of life, but what if she did that and the bone stopped growing, or started curling in odd directions?

She had no choice.

She needed to get to a healer.

Carefully, she tried to get up- doing her best to not jostle the leg that she tried to keep as straight as possible. She needed to wrap it up, needed to reach her gear. Ganondorf watched her as she struggled, watched her as she reached her pack, searched through it and tightly wrapped her leg, after she broke and tied arrows together to make some sort of splint. It would keep the leg straight as long as she didn't mess with it too much.

She was standing now, using her staff as a sort of cane.

"Stay." She turned to look at Ganondorf who had stood. He tilted his head, staring down at her. She limped away from him, towards the door. Soft thuds followed behind her and a chain rattled across the ground. When she turned to look at him, he had gotten closer. The chains on his chest had fallen off when he'd broken the pillar, but his back leg still had a chain attached to it. He seemed to pay the weight no mind.

"Stay, please, just stay.." She didn't know how to make him understand, but she couldn't force him to not leave the building. She needed to get to the village, find a healer, consult Koume.

Aria left the room. Her progress was slow and each step was probably doing more bad than good. Titan greeted her with a soft nicker. She got in close to him, tapped his front legs lightly. They'd done this trick before where she tapped his front legs and he lowered himself onto them. It was quite a bit of maneuvering, but she was able to get onto his back. Her aching leg had gotten quite a bit worse. It was a searing pain now and despite her best efforts, she could tell that the arrows had been bent a bit.

She grasped onto Titan's mane, gritting her teeth. It hurt so bad and she needed to get to a healer.

"Come on boy, I need to get home."

Titan tossed his head, side stepping further away from the door as the dark resident shuffled his way out the large doors. The war horse didn't panic or flee, didn't rear and jostle his rider, but he did roll his eyes and side step even further away from the massive canine. Ganondorf was nearly two to three times his size. Aria's gut twisted. No no, why couldn't he just stay? She had no way to control him, no way to prevent him from attacking just anyone, or running off into the desert.

Ganondorf's red-ringed eyes zeroed in on Titan and Aria. His nose flared as he gazed down at the prey- horse.

"No, stay. Bad." Aria scolded Ganondorf, trying to keep a firm hand on Titan's mane. Those golden eyes focused on her. His head tilted ever so slightly as he regarded her curiously. He took a step forward and Titan side-stepped away. Ganondorf let out a deep "yawww" and grunted, walking once more towards Aria.

"Shh,, it's okay.. It's okay. He's not going to hurt you." She patted Titan's neck. He didn't move from his position as Ganondorf got right up close to him and began sniffing and nudging them with his wet nose. Aria gently put a hand on the canine's nose. She couldn't say he would listen to her, couldn't say he wouldn't attack anyone.

She couldn't just chain him up again.

She needed to see a healer.

"Please, Ganondorf, my king, please just stay here." She spoke softly, rubbing his wet nose. She looked into his eyes, but there was just confusion, the confusion of an animal. Had it been too late?

She urged Titan and took off in the direction of the Gerudo Fortress. A loud bark echoed across the desert. Aria glanced back behind her. The large form that was Ganondorf stood where he was, not following her as she rode as safely and quickly as she could to the Gerudo Fortress.

It took most of the day to reach the gates, her leg had gone numb - probably because she'd expended a bit of energy to chill it early on to keep the pain on a tolerable level, but it worried her. It worried her that she had to leave Ganondorf behind as well, to fend for himself.

Aveil greeted her at the gate.

"You're back early, did you…" Aveil went quiet upon seeing her leg, eyes wide. "Did he do this to you? I'll… " Aria put a hand on the gerudo's shoulder.

"No, it wasn't him. I was attacked in the middle of the night by some monsters, they were wrapped up and had large swords.. I don't know what they were. One got me really good on my leg and when they yelled I just.. I couldn't move. He saved me. He broke the pillars and part of the wall, but he saved me."

"I take it he's still a giant beast then."

"Yeah."

" So he's still a giant mindless beast, now loose, in the desert hungry and angry."

"I don't think he's quite mindless."

"We'll keep an eye out for him, let's get you to Koume."

Aria nodded, slipping from the saddle. Aveil ducked under her arm so she had someone to help her put less pressure on the leg and she was taken to the healing tent. It was filled with people from the previous battles across the desert with the other kingdom. It broke her heart to see so many sisters in arms just lying there. The gerudo were many things, but they didn't stand still for long and they didn't like to be lazy. These women were itching to go out and be a productive member of their community once more.

The healers saw to her leg, and she was given one month of rest. A whole month. Sure, it should have been two months, but with the healing magic and herbs the healers had given her, the time was cut in half. She cursed her luck.

Aveil and Nabooru visited her in the morning.

"You're ridiculous, you know that." Nabooru plopped onto her bedside, jostling her leg a little bit, and tossed her arm over Aria's shoulder. "First you come in here, kick everyone's asses and then you go through the Cave of Ordeals, come out just a little jostled up, but you spend 5 months at the Temple of Spirits- a relatively safe and sacred place, and you come rushing back with a broken leg."

"I don't know what to call that, bad luck? Your good luck running out?" Aveil teased, nudging Aria.

"I feel like I've failed."

"You're alive aren't you? You haven't failed just yet. Well maybe at finding a good man." Nabooru ruffled her hair, making the younger woman wince. Aria blushed, ducking her her head.

"Or did you?" Upon seeing Aria blush more, Nabooru grinned and leaned in real close. "Oh you did! You have to tell us all about it!"

"Was he tall?"

"Tall, psh.. Girl was he big?"

"Oh my gosh, stop. Hewasazora."

"A wha… really? You fucked a Zora?! Damn. Was it slimey?"

"Did he have two of them like a snake-?"

"Like a - how do you even know that Aveil?" Nabooru zeroed in on Aveil who shrugged.

"You hear things."

"Uhuh. Sure. "

"Anyways! Where did you learn how to fight. I mean, obviously besides us, you had some new moves!" Aveil leaned over on her arms, getting comfortable.

"You have to tell us everything. I mean, yeah there's the king, but you have a month before you can even think about doing anything. So spill."

"So I fell into the river right?"

"Girl, we thought you were dead. Found the bones and the bags.. We even had a funeral pyre for you. Word was sent all around, everyone, and I mean everyone, knew. How'd you survive?"

"By the will of the Goddess, I'm sure at this point. Both Titan and I should have long since been dead by now. I woke up in a small forest village. They took care of me, helped me back on my feet and one of their warriors- mind you they didn't really consider him a warrior but he's a real fighter.."

"Was he cute?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not the point."

"Cute enough for you and to do a little fun in the hay?"

"Nabs! Stop."

"Okay, okay. I'll stop.. For now."

Aria rolled her eyes and continued on with the story. She'd only gotten to the part where they'd entered the Forest Temple when one of the healers came by and shoo'd Nabooru and Aveil away, claiming her patient needed some rest, not anymore harassment from two captains who needed to focus on their jobs. Aria was sure Nabooru was going to pull rank, but a loud yawn from Aria made the healer's point for her.

They bid their farewells and Aria passed out after the healer gave her some odd tasting concoction to drink that would help her sleep and heal quicker.

The next morning Aria had no visitors. She understood why as gerudo began rushing in, some being carried or helped. They'd obviously just come in from a battle, and she could recognize the tell-tale signs of dark magic on some of them.

The other Kingdom was getting closer in their efforts to master and control the desert.

"I can help!" Aria said to a nearby healer. The woman scoffed and told her to rest. Aria didn't want to rest, she wasn't tired. She wasn't incapable of anything but walking at the moment. That didn't make her useless.

An odd anger bubbled in her stomach. She could help them, she could… she needed to bring Ganondorf back. They needed their king. Aria sighed as she watched more ladies come in, some less injured than others, but it seemed like none of the group had made it out there unscathed.

One woman with a wrap down the entirety of her arm was glaring at her. She'd just had the healers finish patching up her arm, and had been left to her own devices. Aria tilted her head slightly, regarding the woman with confusion. The woman glanced around before coming direction to stand in front of Aria.

"This is all your fault."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act coy. If you hadn't showed up in the first place none of this would be happening. You've been a spy this whole time, haven't you? You showed up right after the first party. The leaders took you in under their wing, trained you, clothed you, showed you the room filled with maps. Our king took your advice and then you disappeared. You "fell to your death", only to return months later after our king had been taken." Her voice had gradually gotten louder, gaining the attention of the gerudo around her.

"You're a spy! You took the information and gave it to the other kingdom while the gerudo mourned for your disappearance!"

"What are you on about? I fell into the river and spent months trying to get home."

"This is no home of yours spy. You're unwelcome here." The room filled with murmurs, and Aria couldn't believe her pointed ears when she saw and heard many of the women nodding in agreement. Sure there were many others disagreeing, but the agreement seemed to be more prominent.

"You came from the desert, you should return to the desert. You don't deserve the attention of our healers. You don't deserve to be in a land of warriors."

"Yeah."

"You tell that spy."

"I'm not a spy." Aria protested trying to stand and defend herself. The accusing gerudo raised her hand swiftly, but it was caught.

"Enough of this Tali. You dishonor yourself to strike down a wounded ally." It was Aveil. Tali wrenched her wrist from Aveil's tight grip.

"She is no ally of mine. She has corrupted you. She has magiced you and Nabooru, just like our King."

"She has not done such a thing."

"Oh yeah? Tell me. It's been four months since you sent her to heal the King. Why has he not returned? Now you say he is a loose beast in the desert because of this wretch. She's probably killed him, or has been preparing him to come and attack his very people. We should kill her while there's still hope left for the gerudo!"

"There is no hope without our king!" A woman yelled from the back.

"She's killed the king, she's killed us!"

Aria looked and felt like Tali had successfully struck her across the face. How could they believe her lies?

"I don't care what you all believe. She has been an ally to us ever since she came from the desert. Tali you should be ashamed. You all should be ashamed of yourselves." A familiar voice spoke up from the room. It was Faruin who looked rather worse for wear. She was missing an arm. What was left of her arm was wrapped up tightly.

"This is not a place to be having this discussion. You have no right to judge one of your sister in arms, especially when she is physically incapable of taking you to the ring over it."

"I have every right! She's not officially a gerudo, there was no ceremony, no rite of passage. She's not some lost little birdy. She's a sand-cursed spy sent to us from the other kingdom. Probably allies of Hyrule! Our king is dead, and you bitches just assume you're our leaders. She beat you in combat, which only shows to us you are all unfit to lead."

"Enough! You insult us all Tali." Nabooru's voice boomed from across the room as she stood angrily in the doorway. 

"I do not insult igerudo/i just the filth it's let in for too long." Tali sneered.

"Ring now."

'But Miss Nabooru, she's still healing."

"Her wound isn't sufficient enough if she's throwing accusations and insults around. I will make it so." Nabooru grabbed Tali by the arm and dragged her out of the room.

"Go back to your work. If you have any further concerns we will hold a meeting in one week. You may also express your concerns in private later, to myself or Nabooru." Aveil glared out at everyone making sure they all went back to work.

"Are you okay? Would you like to be moved to your old room?"

"I.. I would. I don't think I.." Aria looked down at her hands. Was Tali speaking how all the gerudo truly felt about her?

"I'll have you moved by tonight. Do you want anyone to stay with you?"

"No, thank you but I think I just need some time to myself."

"Alright."

True to her word, Aveil moved her back to her old room. She was given a few extra blankets and left alone for the rest of the day. She could still hear the gossip flying around the compound when ladies passed by her door. Tali's defiance was all the rage. So was Nabooru handing her ass to her in the ring- to the point that Tali had to return to the healing quarters.

Some were questioning Nabooru's control as leadership.

It was a week's time. Aria had been allowed to move around with crutches. She wasn't allowed to even touch down on the leg. During her time there, she'd singled out one of the healers and discussed the properties of magical healing, what the bases were and how to work on them. It was a very precise skill and it took years to learn apparently- Koume and Kotake had to take you on as an apprentice when you were younger than 10. Aria wanted to learn it, but it was obviously not something she could learn in a few weeks or even a few months. She was given a list of herbs that could be found around the desert and in Hyrule that helped with the healing process, instructions on how to take care of infected wounds, and balms for sunburn.

Aria also had a bit of time to spend with Faruin. They spent a good amount of time together, Faruin learning how to re-live life without an arm. She was having some difficulties, not being able to balance very well with a weapon, forgetting she didn't have the other arm, which resulted in her dropping and sometimes breaking quite a few cups.

They tried not to talk about all of what was happening in the desert, but every day there would be at least a few people coming back injured. Aria knew there were some that weren't going to come back at all. She didn't get to see Nabooru or Aveil much, but when she did she told them about her adventures in Hyrule, trying her best to take their minds off of the mess that was happening.

By the end of the week there was the meeting. She hadn't been invited. Actually, Nabooru had specifically told her not to come. That didn't stop her from using the shadows to listen in. It wasn't safe for her to do it just inside the room- with no escape, so she listened just barely outside of the door. Koume, Kotake, Nabooru, and Aveil all stood at the front of the large group. They'd had to use the dining hall.

"I know all of you have been unrestful as of late, and there have been many rumors circulating about Aria coming back. I'm sure most you already know what happened in the healing ward. It was unacceptable. We are here as your leaders, to help guide you, and we're always open for you to confide in us. We've brought you here today, because many of you refuse to speak to us privately. You may voice your concerns here. This is an open discussion, no need to raise your hand.

"Is King Ganondorf truly dead?"

"No. He is not dead. He isn't in his right mind to return to us currently."

"Bullshit! That witch killed him in the desert! You've been letting her cover up for months."

"Yeah! Why else would he not be here?"

"Right! King Ganondorf wouldn't just leave us, no matter his state of mind!"

"She killed him!"

"Enough!" Nabooru slammed her hand on a table. "Aria has not killed our King. She has been trying to bring him back to us."

"You just don't want to believe that you let a spy in. You don't want to believe you let a spy in and let her close to all four- five of you, including the king. You're lying to yourselves, like you're lying to us!" That was Tali. Even after Nabooru beat her down in the ring, it was obvious she still held plenty resentment.

"You fools can't fix this, only King Ganondorf can. He's the only one who can save us! You've cursed us all when you let her stay and decided to train her!"

There were many murmurs of agreement in the crowd.

Aria didn't stay for more. She couldn't stand to stay for more. She moved as quickly and quietly as a broken leg and crutches would allow her. Aria grabbed her stuff from the bedroom, including the extra blankets. It'd been less than two weeks. She wasn't ready to go back, but she wasn't welcome here either.

For a moment, she considered returning to Ordon. She would be accepted in Ordon with Link and his town. The gerudo could fend for themselves.

But in this state… she couldn't make the jump.

She would have to return to the desert. It was the only place she could possibly go right now. She walked out of the Gerudo Fortress- the gates unguarded because everyone was still in the meeting.

"I won't stay where I'm not wanted."


	17. Chapter 17

The desert in the winter was no joke. They days were less fierce in their heat, the winds more intense, and the nights could freeze a man to death. Aria was no different, with her busted leg she made much less progress than she could if she were riding Titan. She left him back in the valley where she knew the gerudo would take good care of him.

She wasn't capable of riding him anyways, and there was no guarantee should could provide for both of them in her current state.

During the night, Aria tried to curl up near some cactus, finding shrubbery if she could. Anything to help keep her sorry ass from freezing to death in the middle of the night. Some nights a loud howl would echo on the wind. Those nights she hardly slept a wink. Food was harder to catch. She could get really young moldorms and some insects, but anything bigger and she was usually left hiding.

She somehow made her way across the desert to the Spirit Temple. Why she would return here, she… she knew. She didn't want to know, but she knew. She was still holding out for him.

There was no giant canine in the Temple, though the temple had obviously seen it's fair share of fights. Her stuff had been mostly left untouched, and she was thankful for it, grabbing what packs she could. Aria stayed there for the night, listening to the howls that echoed across the land and winds. By morning she had left the temple, traveling even deeper into the desert.

They found her by the time her leg had completely healed. She'd been unintentionally following the howls every night, changing direction when they seemed farther off. At some point the howling had stopped, but she had continued walking. No doubt the gerudo had been searching for her for a good while.

It wasn't the Gerudo who had found her.

"Hey boss, I've found someone!"

A tall man leered over, he was in a full set of heavy armor. He took off his helmet and glared over her.

"Who are you?"

"Aria. I-I'm from - I was the apprentice of N-Nicar."

"Nicar has been dead for some time. I don't recall hearing word of his apprentice surviving."

"I've been wandering the desert, surviving off of cacti juice and monster meat."

"You don't look starved or sunburnt."

"There's a cave, filled with monsters! It's not, not terribly far from here."

"No matter, we'll take her with us boys! Tie her up. I'll question her later."

"Yes sir!" Men grabbed her. Her wrists were tightly chained together, a collar attached to her neck so that she had very little moving room as far as her arms were concerned. She knew this type of collar, knew it very well. It was the sign of a slave. It wasn't the first time she'd been in it- though the last few times she'd been shortly saved from that life. This time wasn't likely to that well.

They strode through the desert with purpose and direction, heading back towards the main camp. Any time she stumbled through the desert a sharp tug on her 'leash' would pull her forward. Her leg was hurting again. It had healed for the most part, but she wasn't used to putting such prolonged pressure on it. They had made a small fortress in the desert, It was quite a bit out of the ways, but it was closer towards the Spirit Temple than Aria would have liked. The walls were tall pointed logs, surrounded by twisted metal wire. Aria was brought to what she could only consider as their equivalent of a dungeon. There were four gerudo in there, all beaten and in chains. They recognized her. One glared, but the other fthree looked relieved to see her, joyous almost- until they noticed the collar and chains around her neck.

They spoke when the guards left.

"I see they got you too, scum." It was the one who had glared at her. Aria recognized her vaguely from the healing ward. She looked hardly worse than the others.

"Why are you calling her scum? She's in the same position we are."

"She's their spy."

"Obviously, she's not, or else she wouldn't be chained like all of us."

"Maybe it's a rouse."

"Oh come off it. I've been here longer than you. I've seen their 'spies'. Aria isn't one. They don't even vaguely hide their spies from us. No one escapes their dungeon. They flaunt their power in front of us, like roosters around hens."

Aria looked at the ground but said nothing. Guards came and went, gruel was tossed at them, but she didn't eat. They were so far spaced apart they couldn't even lean into each other for heat as the sky got darker and the wind howled through the bars in the window. Their breath hung in the air. Aria blinked, switching over visions. There were many sparks in the compound. There was at least one other mage, but he was fast asleep. The guards that were supposed to be in front of their door had moved to warm themselves by the main fire.

A dark mass loomed in the far back of the camp. She knew that mass. She could barely make out the outlines of his body with his spark from inside the walls. He had been sleeping. Golden eyes opened, as if they knew he was being watched. His wet nose inhaled softly, golden eyes looking around before landing on the building she was in. He howled loudly, howled, whined, and jerked against his chains.

It woke everyone up in the compound. Quickly, Aria switched back to normal vision, settling herself back into her seat properly. Guards ran around the place, one slamming the door open in there before closing it and running back out.

"What was that?"

"King Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf is dead." The one gerudo snarled.

"What? He can't be."

"He isn't dead. He was changed by their magic. He's in a beast's form now. They have him chained up- like us."

"So that noise was him?"

"Yes."

"Why did it… Why did he… howl? He hasn't made noise since I've been here."

"He has since I've been here. He used to howl every night. I thought they were torturing some poor creature, they probably were. He stopped almost a week or two ago. Why is he howling now?"

"I… I woke him up on accident. I was looking around for the mages and to see how many there were- and I saw him. He sensed that I was looking at him, and he… well he recognized me."

"Recognized you?"

"What makes you so special?"

"I fed him, in the Spirit Temple. That's why I was gone for so long after returning. I was working on trying to figure out how to free him from the chains- get his mind and body right again. He's learned to recognize me, but I don't know if it's just the beast's mind as seeing me as someone who was good to him, or if it's actually him."

'Well, now he's awake and won't shut up."

Several guards stormed in and unchained Aria from the wall, pulling her along with them. She was forced to her knees in front of a man in robes. She knew instantly that this was the other magician.

"So I heard you were the apprentice to the Great Nicar. Aria was it? That homeless child he rescued. Said you had a "wild spark". I see your spark, I don't see your worth." He pressed a boot to her shoulder, kicking her backwards.

"In any case, let's see if you'll be of any use. Guards, take her to the creature. She'll shut him up, whether he eats her or she puts him to sleep. I don't enjoy having my sleep interrupted. My brother's dear pet should do the trick."

Aria looked up at him in shock, only to be smacked across the face.

"Don't you dare look at me, wench. You're hardly the scum beneath my feet." He shoo'ed the guards away before turning on his heel and storming back into his room. The guards lifted her to her feet and practically dragged her towards the cage they had him in. She didn't know how they got such a huge cage to go through the desert, but then they'd had a powerful mage, he could have just formed one with the minerals of the earth if he wanted to.

The beast began snarling and growling as the guards came closer. They tossed her inside, locking the door behind her. One of the guards had been kind enough to remove the binding on her wrists, but not the collar on her neck.

They didn't stay to see what happened to her.

Aria rolled on her back to come face to face with the slobbering, golden eyed beast. He snarled and made to bite her, only for her to roll over just out of the way- right into his large paw. He seemed to grin in that moment, taking his sweet time as his head bent closer and closer to her face. He paused right before her, heavy breath hot on her face. Her eyes closed.

A wet and warm thing slide over her torso.

Aria opened her eyes wide. He wasn't eating her. Oh thank the Sand Goddess. He whined down at her and she reached up her hands to stroke his nose and muzzle. His tail wagged, hitting against the bars of the cage.

"Oh Ganondorf.." She spoke softly, hugging his fur. Sobs escaped as she buried herself even closer to him. He whined softly at her as she clung to his fur, tears streaking her face as the past few months finally got to her. She babbled almost incoherently to him, telling him all of what had happened with the gerudos, their confliction, the mess at the Spirit Temple. It was some while before she calmed down. She passed out in his warm fur.

When morning came, she was awoken by his growling.

"So you're still alive. What an interesting predicament. I suppose though, if you can keep him quiet you have your uses. A pity he didn't eat you- else we wouldn't have needed to feed him. I like my beasts mostly starved before we set them loose." The magician sneered at her, turning away with his guards.

They were alone once more. It was made obvious that not many people came this way. She'd been given a piece of dried- probably slightly rotted meat and stale bread. She gave the meat to Ganondorf. It wasn't much, but he licked it up from her hand anyways.

That night, when the camp had finally gone quiet, she looked into him again. He shifted a little uncomfortable until she laid a hand against his large paw. The chains had grown weaker, dark energy having trouble leaching from him. There was one tether that seemed moments from snapping, and carefully- with a bit of light and kindness, she coaxed the dark cord took a good hour to do so, as her body was quick to tire and the cold was making the sweat on her body freeze. It withered away from his natural chain, lashing against her own energy as it did so. She fell backwards and passed out.

When she awoke, it was to a warm tongue lapping at her skin.

"Whu.. Ganon-?" She blearily looked up at the still furry beast. He ducked his head in close to her, tail wagging a mile a minute. He let out a soft garbled whine- looked vaguely annoyed, and tried again with the garbled whine. It was almost like..

"Graariea"

Aria stared at him in shock. "Do.. do you remember? Do you remember me, Ganondorf?" He snorted softly at her free-usage of his name without his title, but nodded his head.

"Do you remember the gerudo, your sisters, your family?" His dark furry head nodded, before he ducked in and licked her cheek once more.

"Oh thank goodness." She rushed forward and hugged him. He was still massive, but he was himself again. The moment was interrupted when Ganondorf started growling. He stood up and snarled as the magician neared the cage again.

"Ah.. so you do have some skills with magic. I see you've undone one of the old mage's chains. Hmph. It hardly matters at this point. In any case I come to you wish a proposal. You know where these savages live. I know you do. I know you know he used to be their king, and I can tell you two were quite close. Lovers even maybe? Hmm? In any case. I will allow you back into the Kingdom, no longer a slave, but with a small title and land for yourself if you just show us where these mongrels live."

"No."

"Excuse me? You hardly have a choice."

"I don't care. You could kill me for all I care. I'm not telling you where my people live."

"Your people? These are desert trash. They don't care for you. You'll never be one of them. You stupid girl."

"Go away!"

"Away she demands, how pretentious. Fine, little girl. I will go away. I'll return with their second in command's head on a platter. We will find this village. We will destroy these people, and when we do- we'll take over the entirety of this impoverished continent." He spun on his heel and left her in a huff.

"We need to get out of here." She spoke softly, leaning against Ganondorf's fur. He nodded, glaring out at the compound.

When he stopped glaring, the large canine-beast turned his head towards Aria and whined.

"What?" She turned to face him only to be attacked by his tongue, the wet muscle knocking her over. He whined, laying down in the cage. He put a heavy paw over her legs, holding her down as his tongue went full force on 'cleaning' or 'kissing' her toros. She lifted her arms up trying to fend herself, but that didn't matter to the happy Ganondorf. He just licked them to, whining the whole time, tail smacking against the bars.

"Okay, okay! I'm happy to see you too gosh." She groaned, trying to crawl out from beneath him. He whined, trying to bring her back to his paw.

"Stop." She put her hand up, stopping him in his tracks, his blue-ish tongue sticking out still. "We need to configure a plan to get out of this cage, rescue the gerudo in their prison, get out of here without being followed, and get help to defeat them."

Ganondorf growled at the last part.

"What? You're saying the gerudo don't have allies?"

He huffed, crossing his paws over on another, looking high and mighty.

"What about Hyrule?"

His teeth clacked loudly as he turned away from her ever so slightly.

"Don't be ridiculous. They can help. We need help."

He glared at her snapping his teeth right in front of her face. She stood her ground, hand on her hips.

"No, you can't handle it by yourself. What do you think you're going to, just magically take on every single person in the other kingdom? Dismantle them person by person? Don't be arrogant!" She lightly shoved his nose away from her face.

He growled and shoved her down on the ground. She glared right back at him.

He turned away from her, sitting in the corner. Aria huffed, sitting up and rubbing her shoulder. The ground wasn't exactly a soft pillow. That day the guards didn't come by with food. In fact they were mostly left alone, except for the magician coming by every once in awhile to try to 'convince' Aria to give up the gerudo. He threatened to take her out of the cage, to bring her to his personal quarters and- Ganondorf had leapt in front of her then, snarling and gnashing his teeth against the bars of the cage.

The magician had chuckled. Chuckled!

"Oh, so I see how it is. Big bad old wolf has a thing for little miss red riding hood. Cute. For all your size and powers, you're not much else. If I wanted a street rat such as her- I'd have her. There would be nothing you could do to protect her. Silly doggy" The magician flicked his air flippantly and strolled away, two guards tailing after him.

"You know.. I could have taken him up on his offer." Ganondorf stared at her, confounded. "I could have figured out, through him, how to return you to your true form, saved gerudos, given him the wrong information… If you hadn't had your tantrum I could have gotten the information we needed to get you out of here!"

He whined and then growled, lifting her up by her shirt.

"What do you think you are doing?!"

He curled up in a ball, placing her on one of his paws, before he put the other one over her. He snorted softly, growled for a second- as if she could entirely understand what he was even saying at this point, and held her down.

"You're so… soo.. Ugh! Really?!" She couldn't move, not really. He allowed her to shift and turn on her side, but as far as getting away from him, he onto her rather tightly.

"If you were in your other form.. I would… I would… don't look at me like that!" She frowned trying to scootch further away from him. His golden eyes leered down at her. His blue tongue darted out and licked part of her shoulder, neck and face in one good swipe.

"Stop… Stop looking at me like a cream pastry. You… You're not making any sense whatsoever." She curled on her side away from him, and he allowed it this time.

They slept for the rest of the day oddly enough. Perhaps it was the lack of food and water, or just that the past few days had been exceptionally stressful.

She woke up when the moon was high in the sky. Ganondorf was already awake, watching her as she slept. She should have been a little creeped out, especially after his earlier actions, but the didn't say anything.

"I can get us loose, but I don't know how to get you out of here without alerting a lot of guards. I also need to get the others out of the dungeons."

He huffed, sitting where he was. She crept towards the bars and began to work her magic on them. Metal was much harder to work than plain dirt, and by the time she'd made a sizeable hole in it, the guards had already changed mid-night shifts.

"Just.. stay, okay? I said that to you before, and I know you didn't listen last time, but I need you to stay here." He huffed once more, letting her go dart around the buildings. Aria picked up some sand and imbued it with sleep. It wasn't a simple trick, as sleep wasn't exactly one element, but it was possible. Any guard she almost came across had some of the sand blown in their face.

Half the camp was asleep by the time she reached the unguarded prisoner cells. There were six gerudo in there now.

"Pstt.. stay quiet, I'm going to get us out of here."

"Oh I think not, little lady." The sickly sweet voice of the magician came up from behind her. She froze.

"You see, this little friend of yours," He shook the arm of the gerudo he was holding- the same one who'd glared at her in the cell and claimed she was a spy, "told us exactly where your precious desert rats have been hiding. Of course, that means I have to give her your puppy, but it's a fair enough trade." He chuckled. Aria stared at the gerudo, questioningly. The woman refused to meet her eyes, which told her everything she needed to know.

"And before you can say i'You'll never get away with this!'/i I already have. The soldiers are already making their way towards the rat's nest. They'll be dead by dawn." The man smirked.

Aria lunged for the man, yelling. She almost punched him, but he caught her fist and shoved her to the side laughing.

"Is that all you've got? If so, my brother was a fool! Feel real power!" He tossed the gerudo woman to the side and Aria had moments before a spike made of dark energy came out of the ground trying to stab her. She rolled to her feet, blinked, and focused in on the mage before her.

He was powerful, but she'd dealt with one who was nearly twice as powerful before. She didn't just spend the good part of almost a year training with the gerudo, fighting to get back home to a place that hardly wanted her anymore, and dealing with the Cave of Ordeals on her own, to get killed by some thinks-he-knows-it-all-mage who threatened all that she had held dear. His chains were made up of darkness, fire, and ice. All too familiar as far as Aria was concerned. He yelled, charging up a blast of pure dark energy that she deftly evaded. She could see his moves coming a mile away for once. The mage hadn't been trained in physical combat as far as she could tell. He backed up when she picked up a spear.

"Oh, so you've found a stick. And what is the pretty little princess going to do with her sticky-poo? Poke me with it?" He laughed.

She leapt for him, swinging the spear. He ducked beneath her, but she curved her arm backwards, smacking him from behind.

"That was my favorite robe!" He cursed, spinning towards her and sending a volley of fireballs at her. She met his with a thin shield of water.

"Maybe my brother did teach you something after all. You'll still die just like him!" He yelled and slammed his palm into the ground. Electricity burst from the sand and she yelped as it almost stunned,her when she tried to jump out of the way.

"Kekeke, I could have taught you, little one. I could have taught you how to hide your aura, how to become great. It's too late for that now." He tried to punch her, and she swung the staff to block it- a bad decision as he set the staff aflame.

Aria didn't let go, icing her hands quickly to avoid any serious burns. She swung the flaming staff at him, the fire lapping at his coat. He rolled out of the way, electricity arcing around his hands. Aria glanced at the ground. She focused a bit of energy there while she had his attention elsewhere.

"You just don't give up, do you, litm*se he rolled right into her sinkhole. It was a whole lot better than him catching the staff and them both ending up in the sinkhole as she had intended. He yelled as water and sand went up to his shoulders.

"What is this? You can't!" She focused on it solidifying around him, changing the very essence of the material from sand to a very sturdy stone that engulfed him entirely. He screamed as he was encased in stone.

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" the gerudo yelled at her.

"I don't have time to deal with you. I assure you, that you will be dealt with." Aria snarled at the woman, turning her attention to the prison door. She blasted it open, uncaring of the amount of flame she put into it.

"You're still alive!"

"I am, but we have important things to do now. Run as fast as you can to home. Ignore the guards. Just run." the women nodded their heads as she set them free from the bar holding their hands. They could deal with the neck chains later.

Aria waited for the gerudo to make it out safely before she began to set fire to the place. What few guards that were there were running around trying to escape the rising flames. Fire had been one of the easiest elements for Aria. Something about her 'wild' spark probably. She was content to watch each building go up in flames, until something picked her up by her shirt.

"Hey! I'm not finished here!"

Ganondorf grunted, racing away from the fort that was quickly being consumed by the flames of wrath. She glared at his furry face. She had wanted to make sure nothing of the kingdom would remain, that the desert wind would sweep away every bit of ash left over.

They met the other gerudo almost a mile away from the burning fort. They let out a few shouts upon seeing Ganondorf, readying themselves for a fight. That fight didn't come for him. He slowed to a stop and dropped Aria on the ground.

"Are you okay?!"

"That was… amazing! The way you took down the mage and the fort! They'll regret messing with the gerudo."

"..." The one woman was silent, crossed arms. She didn't look Aria in the eye.

Aria stared her down. "They'll realize their fort is gone, but that's not going to stop them from reaching the Gerudo Fortress."

"They don't even know where it is."

"Don't you have something to tell your sisters." Aria glared at the silent gerudo. Ganondorf tilted his head, staring down at the small group of warriors.

"I… I was coerced into telling them the location. They said they would give Ganondorf back! I could've gotten him in time to save the others and-"

"You did what?!" 

"How could you?"

Ganondorf snarled above them. He reached down, teeth bared, but Aria interceded. "We can deal with this later. Now, we need to go save everyone else." The gerudo nodded, turning to head back home.

Aria shook her head, looking up at Ganondorf.

"I know you're going to hate this, but we won't get there fast enough with all of us running. But you…" Ganondorf tilted his furry head for a moment, before his eyes narrowed on Aria. He growled softly.

"Don't be like that. Just let them ride you until we get close. We can all hop off in the middle and take them down."

He snorted in disdain. Aria put her hands on her hips glaring up at him. "Don't be this way. It's for your people." Ganondorf leered down at her for a while longer before reluctantly sitting down.

"Are you sure, my king?" The gerudo asked, nervous.

"Just hop on while he's still willing." Aria snapped, arms crossed. The women did as she asked. They thankfully could almost everyone on his back. Aria ended up begin the odd one out. Ganondorf ducked his head, picking her up by her shirt.

"You know, if you keep doing this, my shirt is going to rip." Ganondorf snorted softly, before he picked up speed. They raced towards home as quickly as possibly- the giant canine making leaps and bounds over entire sand dunes. Aria reached up and grasped his long tusk-like lower fang, trying to prevent any shirt rippage. She didn't want to be left behind or force them to make a quick stop because she fell to the ground. Ganondorf didn't seem to mind the increased pressure on his mouth- and if he did, he didn't give any sign of discomfort.

The first sign of light was slowly beginning to creep from the desert's eastern horizon.

"Make haste!" Aria shouted. Ganondorf grunted softly. The desert flew beneath them. Ahead they could see a large mass of people, not much further the gerudo fortress. They couldn't be too late. They had to.. Ganondorf snarled, mouth opening as he ran and Aria dropped to the ground. The gerudos didn't stop, didn't slow as Ganondorf barrelled into the small army. The girls flew from his back, landing in the center of the chaos, weapons they'd stolen from the burnt encampment spinning. Their strikes were just quick flurries from the distance. Aria cursed her luck and came running from where she'd been dropped. Her leg ached, but she needed to do this.

Gerudo from the Fortress had seen the beast of Ganondorf come barreling towards their city and had rushed out, weapons drawn, to meet him. They joined the fray against the small army. Ganondorf pounced on soldiers, flung his head back - tossing several men high into the air.

Aria's world was drawn into chaos.

For a moment all she could see was the fire, the dead body of Bjorn lying over her- protecting her. The screams of men being slaughtered was a haunting echo in her head, and even as Aria stumbled across the sands towards the crowd, her mind told her otherwise. In her mind she was walking through the rubbles, the dead bodies in the blood-stained desert. Aria walked through the fighting warriors, her mind lost in a whole other world, it only came to when she came face to face with Ganondorf. Her eyes wide and lost. For mere moments in time they stared at each other ignoring the battle around them, before a spear thrown at his side pulled him away. It seemed to jerk her out of her reverie. A soldier fell next to her, and Aria came face to face with Aveil.

"We need to talk. Later." Aveil ordered.

Aria nodded, before turning to dodge an attack that came in. She didn't have her staff, didn't have any weapons- except herself. The next person that attacked her got a flaming fist to the face. They screamed in pain and she wrenched the heavy sword from their hands. She needed something lighter, the sword was extremely unbalanced and made her normally rather fluid movements, clunky. Aria ducked beneath a blow that would have severed her head from her shoulders. She turned, stabbed the man in the gut, and twisted the sword as she jerked it out.

They were extremely outnumbered, but if there was anything the gerudo were used to- it was taking down foes mightier than them. The women were skilled and fierce in battle. Aria had always admired the way they took on the world, and fighting an actual foe was no different. Ganondorf seemed to be making a huge impact- the sight of him fighting the battle with them, even in this canine form, seemed to raise the women's morale.

Aria had so much she wanted to say to him, but it wasn't the right time, it wasn't the right form. There was a war to be had- this was just going to be one battle of possibly many. By the time the sun was high in the sky, the last warrior had fallen and gerudo were victorious. It wasn't an easy or good win by far. Warriors had been slain, and they'd have to burn their bodies. Ganondorf was panting slightly, spears embedded in his coat and parts of his body. His snout was covered in blood, most of it wasn't his. The clean up started immediately. They didn't want to attract any monsters or beasts towards their fortress. Aria joined in the cleanup, too magically drained to do much more than drag bodies to a pile.

By the time she was done doing her part, she noticed a good majority of the gerudo had swarmed over to Ganondorf. He was laying in the sun, allowing them to pull out the spears and tend to his wounds, never snarling, hardly wincing. Aria wanted to join them, to run over and run her hands through coat, to clean the bloody clots and knots in his mane- but he was already well attended, and her being there would just cause issues. Her skin crawled with the reminder that she wasn't welcomed here anymore.

"You always bring the bad with you, don't you?" Tali's voice echoed through the relatively silent air. "I don't care what they say, you're not welcome here. You've done nothing but bring an army to our front gates." Aria slowly turned to face Tali. She was exhausted, drained of magic, emotionally fatigued.

"It was one of your own that sold you out. I brought back your king."

"You didn't bring him back! You weren't there for most of the fight! I saw you climbing over that dune. You let the others go ahead of you, let them die before yourself. Good women died today and you being here sullies their sacrifice!"

From the corner of her eye, Aria could see Nabooru and Aveil jogging, trying to get through the crowd that had formed.

"Tali! Enough! You've done enough damage!"

"Shut up! I'm going to end this problem of ours, once and for all!" A flash of silver was all Aria saw before she was knocked away. The dagger was embedded in the leg of Ganondorf. When he had stood up, she had no idea.

"So you have a beast save you. You're pathetic."

"That beast if our king!" Nabooru had finally broken through the crowd.

"What? Our king is dead!" Ganondorf growled.

"He lives, and stands before your very eyes. You are a fool to see otherwise." Nabooru advanced on the woman. Aria shakily got to her feet, ignoring Tali and Nabooru's argument while she checked on the dagger that had been stabbed into Ganondorf's leg. Gently, she pulled it from it him. It was more like a paper-cut to the giant canine, but he winced all the same. Ganondorf bent his head down, whining softly. His nose pressed into her side and Aria hugged it, kissing the top. She mouthed 'thank you' to him. An unrecognizable emotion flashed through his eyes, before he turned his attention to the two women who were moments from taking each other to the ring again. He barked, his voice echoing through the entire fortress.

The women went silent, Nabooru stepping back from Tali. Ganondorf turned on Tali, walking ever so slowly towards her. His growl could probably be heard for miles. That was when Koume and Kotake came rushing from somewhere in the fortress.

"Son!"

He seemed to swallow his growling as his two mothers flew around his head. They chatted away- too high up, too quickly, for Aria to understand though she did catch words about bonds, chains, magic, and ceremony. It reminded her of the collar still chained to her neck. The other gerudo that had been imprisoned with her, even the one that had betrayed their location, had already had their collars removed.

"We will deal with the Tali and Aria matter tomorrow at noon." Koume called out.

"For now, everyone mourn their sisters."

"We will hold a feast tonight in their honor."

"Tend to the injured, and rest."

The crowd began dispersing. Ganondorf followed his mothers away, towards one of the large buildings. Aria took a step in their direction, only for a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"We need to talk.


	18. Chapter 18

Aveil was the one to lead Aria back towards Nabooru's quarters, they were relatively deep in the compound and it was one of the few times Aria had ever gone to Nabooru's room. The room was extremely extravagant compared to her old room, the bed just a mess of furs and pillows beneath a see-through red canopy. The floors had a thinly woven reed mat on them- easy to clean, easy to replace, and kept the floor from being too cold when you first rolled out of bed.

Aveil sat down on one of the few chairs littering the room. There was a desk in the corner of the room, but it didn't look like it received much use besides to put weapons on when Nabooru passed out right after training. Aria stood, casually glancing around the room as they waited for Nabooru to come. Nabooru arrived rather shortly, rubbing her shoulder.

"The pyre has been lit, Koume and Kotake are with the King, probably trying to see if they can figure out a proper way to communicate with him. Tali and the Mirah are under watch. Mirah is the woman who betrayed us at the camp- from what the others that returned from being captured have told me so far." Nabooru plopped on her bed. There weren't any major injuries on her, besides the usual scratches and minor bruising as far as the eye could see.

"You know you shouldn't have run away." Nabooru closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "A good amount of the clan don't trust you anymore. Some of them were on the wall- but when you left during the meeting… it's changed a few minds for the worse."

"You returning has probably changed a few minds as well. You brought back King Ganondorf." Aveil butted in.

"He's still a beast in form, though it seems not in mind. That might not change as many minds as Aveil believes."

Aria sighed, turning away. "I didn't intend to come back. I.. I don't want to stay where I'm not wanted, and the others have made that very clear."

"The others do not make decisions for the gerudo. Koume, Kotake, Myself, Aveil. We make the decisions while Ganondorf is away. Not Tali. Not Mirah. You don't even know what was decided."

"Does it matter anymore?" Aria scoffed, crossing her arms. She stared down at the mat on the floor.

"Yes, it matters. Of course it matters. Koume and Kotake made the final decision. They trust you, you are an honorable sister to the gerudo- with or without the ceremony. We've already started plans for the ceremony to make you an honorary member of the tribe. With or without Ganondorf, although it would be great to have his blessing and it would ease the others' minds, you are going to be a member of the Gerudo."

"I.. I don't know how you guys can still want me. I'm.. I was from the same Kingdom that's at war with you, I haven't magically fixed Ganondorf, or healed the land, or even been useful in battle."

"How can you say that? How can you not see that you have made a difference? You brought back King Ganondorf. You've shown the Gerudo that even a stranger can go beyond their limits. You beat me in battle."

"I had an advantage. Magic is.."

"It's not cheating, using the gifts that you have to battle. From what I heard, your gifts have saved many gerudo. We owe you."

"I…"

Aveil laid a hand on her shoulder. "I know you doubt yourself. I understand, I really do. Trust us when I say, we accept you here. You are wanted."

"Maybe Ganondorf would be able to convince you more… thoroughly." Nabooru winked. Aria tried to ignore the slight heat rising to her cheeks, but Nabooru saw it and burst into giggles. "You spent four months with him and nothing happened. Could you guys be anymore dense!"

"I am not dense. He was.. iis/i a beast right now. He didn't have his mind for such a long time. Besides, I'm not…"

"You can't say you're not interested in him. I swear by the Sand Goddess, if you say-"

"No no. I'm not saying anything. I just.. He's so…"

"Handsome? Strong? Big?" Nabooru winked.

Aria sputtered, her cheeks reddening so much she tried to hide her face in her hands.

"In any case. It's late. There's a whole lot of stuff we need to do tomorrow. Are you hungry, there's the feast going on right now. No? Come join me on the bed. We'll hit the baths in the morning and deal with the rest of everything tomorrow." Aveil nodded, digging into one of the packs that Nabooru had laying around the ground. She passed Aria a nightgown. It was a rather sheer thing, but Aria took it anyways.

"Cute. Seduce any men in this little thing?"

"Nope. I got it for you a while back, so you could seduce Ganondorf."

"You're joking right? You didn't actually expect me to… 'seduce' Ganondorf?"

"Only a little. I did get it for you, sort of a name-day gift. Red really looks good with your eyes."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me, just get in bed!" Nabooru huffed, flopping over into her pillows, tossing one at Aria. Aveil caught it before it could hit Aria, tossing it quickly back to the gerudo lying in the bed. They piled into the bed and passed out.

The next morning they were disturbed by a knock at the door. Nabooru groaned, holding a pillow over her head. Aveil glared at her. Aria mumbled something into her pillow trying to ignore that oddly wet feeling on her waist where Aveil's head had previously been laying

"Your room, your door. Answer it"

"You answer it."

Aveil yanked the pillow from Nabooru's grasp and kicked her shin.

"Hey! Fine fine.." Nabooru groaned and rolled out of the bed. For a moment she tried to take the covers with her, but Aveil had a very firm grasp on the sheets.

"Whatdoyawant?" Nabooru opened the door, leaning against the frame. It was a younger girl. Her knees shook a bit as she stared up at Nabooru.

"The-the…"

"Hey. It's okay, calm down. I'm not going to like knock you out if you don't deliver the message."

"S-s-sorry. Koume and Kotake requested the p-presence of Miss Aria."

"Aria, wake up. The bosses want you."

"Mmm..okay." Aria yawned, stretching. She quickly changed into the clothes she wore the previous day. Her packs were somewhere.. She wasn't actually too sure. Maybe the majority of them had been burnt in the encampment, maybe some of them were still at the Spirit Temple, or there could be a few packed in the room she had left.

Aria followed the young girl to somewhere she hadn't been before in the fortress. She could only assume they were going to Koume and Kotake's personal rooms. By the time they reached the doors, Aria was wide awake. The young girl knocked three times then backed away from the doors.

"Enter." The voice behind the doors was rather muffled, indistinguishable even. She could only assume it was because the doors were considerably thicker and heavier than the other doors in the young girl bowed to her, before darting off back the direction they had come.

Aria slowly opened up one of the doors.

The room she entered wasn't an office or a training room of any sort. It was someone's bedroom. It was rather lavish, large weapons decorated the wall. The floor was covered in various furs. There was a desk in one corner. It was well organized, stacks of papers on one side.

Aria was so busy taking in the bedroom she almost didn't notice the figure on the large bed. Ganondorf sat up, stretching as he did so.

"I almost didn't expect you to come."

Aria nearly jumped out of her skin. "You're back to normal!"

"I am… mostly. My mothers worked through most of the night. You broke the initial chain, which began to unravel everything. They suspect in a few months I may have been able to transform back on my own. I…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn't sure you would come if you had been told the summons was by me."

"I… it doesn't matter. What do you mean by mostly."

"It's complicated. I hope you never have to see it." He advanced on her so that he stood next to her. His chest was bare before her, black pants riding low on his hips to the point where you could see the red trail of hair dipping beneath them.

"In the cage… when that man was offering you a way out."

"You mean when when I scolded you for us losing the chance to gain and deliver wrong information?"

"I mean when you basically told me you would be his whore to pass along wrong information!"

"I wasn't going to be his whore."

"You certainly implied it."

"It's nothing any other gerudo wouldn't do in that situation."

"You aren't any 'other' gerudo."

"Wha… what is that supposed to mean? I"m… I'm almost considered part of this family, and you have the nerve to imply that-"

"That's not what I'm saying!" He shouted punching the wall behind her. His red locks few everywhere over muscled shoulders and the wall had a very deep dent in it. Dust crumbled to the ground as he removed his hand and ran it through his hair.

"I'm trying to tell you that you're important to me, and I would have.. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"King Ganondorf… I…"

"We are in private Aria. I am… I'm not a king here. Not..alone with you." A large hand came up and brushed her cheek gently.

"The others…"

"Just us…" he murmured, before he swept her into his arms. His mouth devoured hers, sharp canines nipping her lower lip. She wrapped her legs around his thick waist as he lifted her up. She tried to return his kisses, clutching onto his shoulders.

He fell backwards onto the bed, grunting as his back hit the sheets, jostling her a bit. Aria pulled away from the kiss, and he took that as permission to kiss along her neck. Ganondorf nipped the delicate skin of her throat.

"G-nnn Ganondorf, stop."

He groaned, pulling away from her to stare at her curiously. His hands lay on her hips, large thumbs rubbing circles into the skin where her shirt had raised.

"We can't do this."

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"I.. " She huffed and shifted on his lap. There were a lot of things she was uncomfortable with in this situation, but she couldn't really explain to him that the majority of the issue was Ganondorf himself, which wasn't something he could control. It was different than the idea of sex with a stranger whom she'd probably never see again. The whole idea of what could happen was bigger than itself.

"It's not that I'm not interested, I am. I just," She sighed, reaching up to put her palm on her forehead. "I find you very attractive, but there are more factors at play than the both of us. I. I'm not.. I'm not entirely interested in being just a notch on your bedpost. I'm afraid I would want more with you, but I don't know you that well."

He considered her calmly, still rubbing circles in her skin, more slowly this time. "If you wish to take it more slowly, then that is what we shall do."

"Thank you." She slowly got off of his lap. He sat up.

"I should go, I need to bathe and get fresh clothing. "

"I would join you."

"I'm sure your mothers have many things they need from you. You've been away for quite a while."

"They can wait a little longer."

"No. I don't want you to put me before the gerudo."

"I am not. I was simply intending to join you in the baths and have clothes sent for you."

"King Ganondorf, I-"

"Aria. With everything I have been informed of I would not deem it safe for you to traverse the halls of the fortress alone for some time."

"I can take care of myself."

"I do not doubt that, but I do not desire to see more of my people at war with each other over any "incident" they would blame you for."

"... If you want to join me, you may."

Aria didn't miss the slight tilt to his lips or how the glimpse of uncertainty in his eyes when he offered her his arm. She took it gently, trying to ignore the way the warmth from his skin crept into her fingers. He lead her through the hallways, visiting her room momentarily to grab a spare set of clothes, before they entered the bathing room.

It wasn't empty.

Nabooru was in there along with quite a few other girls. The room went rather silent. Ganondorf took his time undressing, even going so far as to take Aria's clothes from her after she'd undressed, allowing her to sink into the steamy waters before he joined them.

That silence was quickly broken when the women rushed forward to Ganondorf, Aria being pushed far to the side, her hip banging against the edge of the pool. She cursed under her breath. Nabooru waded over, patting her shoulder.

"I know." Aria muttered softly, turning away from the crowd of women who were bombarding Ganondorf with questions, some already soaping up his body and hair.

Ganondorf glanced over the crowd, watching as Nabooru and Aria set about kneading shampoo into each other's hair. His fingers itched to do the same for her, but another woman's voice brought him back to the conversation at hand.

"So, what did he want?" Nabooru spoke softly, for there were many ears in the room- despite the general focus on their King.

"He wanted to talk to me about something that happened when we were caged together."

"Oh? What idid/i happen when you were caged together?"

"Nothing like that. I was going to… offer myself up to the sorcerer to get information on their attack and hopefully a way to cure him of the beast form."

"Hmm.. not something completely outlandish. He wasn't happy about it?"

"Not even vaguely. He almost bit my head off for even suggesting it- which would have been very easy for him to do given the circumstance."

"True. Were you the one that brought him back to his true form?"

"No, Koume and Kotake did that last night. I guess I just started the process." Aria shrugged, rinsing her hair. Every once in a while she glimpsed Ganondorf over her shoulder. He was laughing, eyes closed, relaxed while one of the gerudo told him something and a few others were washing him.

"Jealous?" Nabooru nudged her, dragging her attention away.

"No. it's nice to see him relaxing with his family. After all that he's been through, he deserves the rest."

"Yeah, well sadly that rest is going to be short lived. We've got a lot to do today."

"Right.. The ceremony and… " Aria sighed, dragging herself out of the water.

"Hey, it's not all that bad." Nabooru handed her a towel. "Breakfast first, a bit of training, and then you have an audience in front of everyone where we'll have the trial."

"Training?"

"Mhmm. Your training was left unfinished before you disappeared on your adventure through Hyrule. We Gerudo don't like leaving things unfinished. It'll be good for you."

"What about the gerudo list in battle? Isn't today a day to mourn them?"

"There's a lot to being a gerudo that you still don't know about." Nabooru tossed her some clean clothes. Aria tilted her head at the garments, but put them on anyways. It wasn't uncommon to see the gerudo warriors wearing heels, but it wasn't something she'd done too often and never when they were going to the practicing ring.

"We don't mourn the loss of our loved ones" Nabooru said as they left the bathing room. "We celebrate their life with a feast, we battle and practice to honor their strength and increase our own skills in remembrance"

"The kingdom where I'm from just buries the bodies and has people mourn privately. It was frowned upon to publically show or share your grief."

"Such barbaric principles, it's a wonder that the people don't rebel against itself." Nabooru shook her head, bringing Aria outside. Everyone was out and about today. Most of the training rings had gerudo training in them already. The archery range and the horseback archery range were both packed with gerudo.

"Your mount returned last night, he's in the stable resting. That horse is something else." Nabooru chuckled, leading Aria to an empty ring. It was further away from the others with a small sign hanging on it.

"Reserved? Did you reserve it?"

"Nope, but no one is gonna stop me from using it."

"But-"

"No. Use your body, not your words- and no magic! You've been using magic for the past months. I want to see if you've kept your body honed. I know your magic is fine."

"Aren't these shoes a bit-"

"Fashionable. Don't worry, if you break your ankle from wearing them we'll switch to something that doesn't require you to stand."

"That's horrible."

"Don't break your ankle then."

"You're horrible."

"I know, it's beautiful isn't it?" Nabooru smirked, tossing a dagger at Aria.

Aria let out an undignified 'meep!' and dove to the side, she hardly had a moment's breath to make a retort to Nabooru's comment before the large gerudo warrior was rushing towards her, curved scimitar in hand. Aria rolled to her feet, reaching for one of the weapons that hung on the fence. She jerked a sword out of it's scabbard just in time to reflect Nabooru's attack. The scimitar slid up the length of the sword and almost caught Aria in the head if she hadn't moved.

"By the Goddess, are you itrying/i to get me killed?"

"Not yet. You've slowed down considerably though. Maybe we should put the weights back on your legs."

"Give me time to warm up you fiend!"

"No time in war time."

Aria huffed and took the offensive, rushing towards Nabooru. The unfamiliar weight of a heavier sword in her hand didn't deter her from striking with all her might. Nabooru dodged her blow with ease, but hadn't expected the punch coming from the other hand. Nabooru jumped back a few feet.

"Oh, nice one. I didn't expect you to one hand that two-handed sword. How's your wrist?"

"Strained. I didn't realize it was a two handed sword."

"Mmm, something that can be taught later, there are some swords that look one handed, but are actually two. That's one of them. It's good you can swing it with one hand- shows you haven't lost everything."

Nabooru took the two-handed sword from her hand and examined her wrist. "Doesn't need to be wrapped thankfully. We'll work with the scimitar first, although it's a lot more efficient on horseback."

"Some days I wonder, if it weren't for the war, what is the point of all this practice and fighting. The gerudo obviously have been fighting long before this war happened."

"Well, we've always been at a disadvantage in the desert. There's no real cover for the sun or enemy armies. Hyrule is the closest neighboring kingdom and we're not always on the best of terms with the hylians. We've warred with them in the past. In the end, it's better to be prepared for a fight and get to the fight capable of maiming someone, than having never trained before, getting ambushed, and being slaughtered from the inability to raise a sword."

Aria nodded and returned the sword to it's place on the fence. She grabbed a scimitar and picked a stance.

"Nope, not that one. Your defense is too lacking for the curved weapon." Nabooru shook her head and sheathed her own weapon to correct Aria's stance and posture. Aria grimaced when she realized where that left her open.

"You want to be fast enough to slice, not pierce. Piercing with this weapon makes it difficult to retrieve your weapon in a tight situation." Nabooru guided her through the various moves, showing Aria how she should bend to protect against her obvious openings that a knowing soldier would recognize. Aria grumbled about preferring a short sword or daggers earning a quick cuff to the head before they actually went into practicing combat with the scimitars.


	19. Chapter 19

Aria was rushed to the baths by Aveil after being caught practicing the scimitar with Nabooru for too long. Aveil helped her into her clothes, forced her to sit long enough for some odd makeup to be put on her face, and combed out her hair before they half-jogged to the 'throne' room. The gerudo warrior insisted on Aria wearing jeweled upper arm cuffs and a few bracelets that glittered in the light.

"This is ridiculous, it's way too flashy for a trial."

"You should want to look your best for this."

"It's a trial. I could potentially die."

"Or you could be re-introduced as an official member of the family. In which case, you should look absolutely stunning."

"Stunning for my death."

"Fine, yes, stunning for you death. Hmm, do you think you could summon some flowers to put in your hair, perhaps a red mariposa to bring out the gold-"

"I can't magically summon flowers Aveil, I need the seeds and soil to encourage growth. Magic isn't just.." Aria sighed, going to rub her forehead only to have Aveil grab her hands.

"Don't you dare mess up that makeup. Alright, now remember, when you walk in, you walk up to three feet before the throne, then get on your knee. Just one knee- not both. You are a warrior, not a prisoner." Aveil grabbed Aria's hand, kissing the fingers clasped in her own. "You've got this."

The double doors before them opened wide. The gerudo were all seated on cushions in rows, probably almost as well organized as their armory, which was shocking in itself. Koume and Kotake were on one side of Ganondorf, Nabooru stood on the other. Aveil gave her a little nudge, and Aria walked forward, leaving her behind by the door. It apparently didn't look well for her to have a 'guard' walking next to her.

Aveil waked a few feet behind her, the older woman's presence not comforting her nerves as all the golden eyes glared down upon her. Aria kept her eyes straight as best she could, seeing Tali and Mirah on her left side near the front of the court- obviously there to plead their case and argue for her conviction. Ganondorf, himself, watched her closely as she strode forward. His regalia had little armor except on his shoulders, his robes dark with red and orange writing on them. They were left slightly open giving a gracious view of his chest. Aria could only assume it was supposed to symbolize how strong their king was- with little need for armor as his body was a weapon in itself. As she arrived to the front of the room, she knelt before him, bowing her head and getting on one knee just as Aveil had recommended. She closed her eyes not daring to look at him.

The room was filled with murmurs. Aria tried to tune them out, scrunching her eyes. A sound of rustling clothes and the room went suddenly silent. She dare not look. Footsteps echoed off the tiled ground. A hand brushed across her cheek gently before grasping her chin, forcing her eyes open.

"Why do you kneel before me, Aria, Flower of my Deserts?"

"Am I not here for a trial, My king, for the crimes I have committed?"

"What crimes do you presume to have commit?"

"Desertion, for running away in a time of war."

"Betrayal! Traitor! She's not one of us! She openly admits to leaving rank at our time of need!" Tali shouted from her area up front, a few shouts from the seats echoed in the court. Aria watched the corner of Ganondorf's lips turn down and his nose scrunch in annoyance.

"Silence. I will not have you causing havoc in my court." He growled, not bothering to grace Tali with a glance in her direction.

"I do not see where you have deserted the gerudo people. Please clarify." He backed up a step, one hand on his hip as he gazed down at her, his mouth a hard line.

"When i left you at the temple, I returned here with a broken leg." 

"I vaguely recall that, you refused to let me follow you home that time."

"I didn't realize you were sound of mind then."

"I wasn't, not entirely. Go on."

"W-well I returned here and healed up. This was when I met Tali in the healer's tent, but there was to be a meeting to discuss the matters of me staying or not. I overhear Tali's objection and many other's agreement with her-"

"You eavesdropped?"

Aria winced, nodding. "I did."

"A small crime, not unforgivable, continue."

"I left that night, before the meeting ended, when no one could stop me."

"Without your steed."

"Without Titan, yes."

"What in Goddess's name made you think that you could survive the desert's harsh winter on your own, no steed, no food, no shelter?" He rubbed his temples, glaring down at her.

"I.. I didn't want to be a burden on-"

"You are not a burden to the Gerudo. The wounded, physically and mentally, are never a burden. You were both, and you ran from home-"

"A place I was not wanted."

Aria dared a glimpse around the room. She could see Nabooru's concerned face, Faruin's upset one. The guilt swelled in her chest. There were people here who she had left behind, deserting them in her own sorrow.

"Look at me now." When Aria's head turned back to Ganondorf, he was kneeling beside her on the ground, still somehow towering over her. She could see a glimmer of moisture in his bright eyes. "You are not unwanted. I…" He swallowed hard as if the words were hard to come by. "When you… when we… When I heard the news of your passing…" He shuddered, his breath hitching. "I did not take it well. My sorrow led me to lead a large battalion of warriors to their doom at the hands of the other kingdom. It was my fault so many died, so many were wounded when you had warned me before. I was lost without you." He leaned forward, a hand cupping her cheek as he pulled her into a gentle kiss. She could taste the bittersweet sorrow on his lips.

"BEWITCHER!" Mirah and Tali yelled. Mirah in particular grabbed the dagger from the guard's belt and lunged towards the pair. She didn't get very far as Nabooru had seen it coming and knocked the dagger from the other woman's hand, restraining her.

"I expected this from Tali, not you Mirah."

"He was supposed to be mine! Mine alone!"

Ganondorf's head jerked back. "Enough!" He stood up abruptly, pulling Aria to her feet. "We will discuss Aria's crimes and punishments later, since you two are so eager to be dealt with." He strode to his throne, Aria's hand in his own. Aveil brought a cushion over and he had it set next to his left, making sure Aria was comfortable before he had Tali and Mirah brought forward. Nabooru passed Mirah off to another gerudo so she could return to her position, though she stood behind Aria's seat this time.

"I am guilty of nothing! We have done nothing to harm the gerudo."

"Silence. If I recall correctly, you, Tali, were the one who stabbed my arm with a dagger in your attempt on Aria's life."

"It wasn't meant for you."

"It's intentions were to kill. An attempt on one of our own in dishonourable ways is a serious crime."

"She is not one of our own. It was never decided upon!"

"R-r-right! She tried to betray us to that magic-wielder from the other kingdom. I was there!"

"Liar!" A small group of gerudo stood up from the crowd. Ganondorf clenched his fist at this interruption, glancing down at Aria when she laid a hand on his leg, shaking her head. Slowly he unclenched his fist and placed his hand on hers.

"We were there. You, Mirah, betrayed the gerudo. You gave the fortress's location to the wizard and his troops in return for King Ganondorf."

"I-I-i.."

"That doesn't mean I'm to blame for anything!" Tali yelled. "She may have betrayed the gerudo, but I did no such thing! I was trying to save our King and our people!"

"Talk about throwing someone under the molgera." Nabooru muttered softly.

"L-l-look at the collar she still wears! A symbol of her loyalty to the people who imprisoned us!"

"She was imprisoned like the rest of us. We all still bear these collars. We can't figure out how to remove them without removing our own heads."

"Mirah is the only one with the collar removed, due to her betrayal."

"I think I've heard enough." Ganondorf sighed, pressing his palms together. "Ladies you may return to your seats, and afterwards consult my mothers to see if they can't remove that nuisance around your necks."

"I see that no matter what I do, Tali and Micah, you both refuse to listen to a cease and desist order-"

"My king please-" 

"I AM SPEAKING." He stood up, stalking towards the woman. "Have you lost all sense? " he turned towards the audience in the room. "If I release you two to the desert, which would be a suitable punishment, you may betray us further and bring our enemies back here. I could have you killed. You have betrayed our location, tried to harm one of our own, among other deeds that I have heard of- including your mutiny at the meeting." He shook his head.

"Sadly, I cannot see it in my to have you killed without a fighting chance as a warrior should go. For now, you will be sentenced to the dungeon. Two meals a day, under guard." He waved his hand and a group of four women took Tali and Mirah away. Mirah was crying that she was innocent. Tali refused to take her glaring eyes off of Aria.

"Aria, stand please." Aria practically jumped off of the cushion. She stood up straight and as tall as she could surrounded by much taller people. Everyone else in the room rose as well, though they weren't commanded to. Ganondorf strode over to her, his fingers skimming over her waist before he laid a hand on her shoulder.

"From this day forward, Aria, you are an official Gerudo. Let no one question that you are one of our own." The room behind them cheered, but all she could truly focus on was the warm hand on her shoulder, the large body pressed into her side inconspicuously.

"We shall hold a feast in your honor tonight. You shall be my honored guest. Court has been dismissed." Still he kept his hand on her shoulder until everyone except his mothers and Nabooru had left. He seemed to pay them no mind as he turned to Aria.

"I know you wanted slow." He knelt before her, brushing the side of her cheeks somehow not messing up Aviel's hard work. "I promise I will give you slow, but I just.. When I heard news of your death. I.." Aria silenced him, her mouth covering his own. A surprised moan escaped his mouth before he pulled her into him. Her hands darted up to his face, sliding through the red of his beard, brushing the bottom of his ears. Ganondorf's hands fell to her waist, encouraging her gyrating hips.

"Ahem."

He kissed her roughly, growling out Aria's name. One of her hands slid down his open shirt, gripping the dark material.

"AHEM."

"What!?" Ganondorf glared at Nabooru, tightly holding Aria against him.

"Whoa, um.."

"Now now son, you need to calm down dearie. It hasn't been long enough and I'm sure you wouldn't want to turn back." 

"Your anger is getting the better of you. There will be plenty of time for baby-making later." Koume chimed in.

"Baby- we're, I'm not quite sure I'm ready for th-"

"Don't mind them. I promised we'll take things slow, and we will." Ganondorf nuzzled against her neck, red beard slightly scratching the sensitive skin.

"Anyways, we have a feast to get everyone ready for. That means Aria needs to change, as do you."

"What I'm wearing isn't okay?"

"Nope. We also need to get that collar off your neck, it's probably rubbed your skin raw."

"I can do it." Koume offered, flying over and gently lifted Aria's head. "This will take a bit, tell me if I accidentally burn you." Carefully the elderly woman magicked a fine laser of fire starting at the top of the collar, and slowly brought the line downward, melting the collar, weakening the magic that had held it together. The moment the fire touched the bottom of the collar, it disintegrated before their eyes.

"Much better, thank you." Aria rubbed her throat. It had certainly bruised quite a bit.

"Well, I suppose that's it. I will go help the others out of their collar situations. " Koume and Kotake flew off.

"Alright love birds, let's go hit the baths."

"But I just ha-"

"No buts, let's go." Nabooru scolded her, tweaking Aria's sensitive ear. She yelped, before quickly punching the older woman in the arm.

"There are things I must attend to first. I will see you both at dinner." Ganondorf swept out of the room without a glance back.

Aria let out a soft sight. "Damn."

"Damn? Damn what? You did fine."

Aria's face reddened. "No, I was.. I was just."

"You were gazing at his backside, weren't you?"

"...Maybe."

"Come on you scoundrel, let's get you dressed for dinner."

"It's not really going to take hours to get me dressed for this, is it?"

Nabooru's glance said otherwise.

Aria cursed her luck. She really did. Nabooru was excessively persistent when it came to getting cleaned up. The makeup she had been wearing was removed very gently, which took much too long in Aria's opinion. Nabooru and Aveil had tried to explain that if they just stripped it off her face they would remove all the good oils and it would be hours before they could re-apply makeup without it messing up horrendously. She didn't see the point, but she wasn't going to refuse the effort they wanted to spend on her.

It was rather nice to be pampered. Faruin had come to help, though she couldn't do much in the way of working on her appearance, Faruin sat her down and they talked at length about everything that had come to pass, starting from where she had left off back in the healer's tent. Aveil put her hair half up, the top part twisting in braid hat had several red flowers interwoven in them, leading down to the flowing hair on her back, that she had somehow convinced to curl.

"Normally this dress is reserved for weddings-"

"No, no. Can we not? I don't want everyone assuming Ganondorf and I are magically in some special relationship and we're going to get married in a week."

"I was going to say it's meant for guests of importance, frequently seen at weddings- not the bride" Nabooru put her hands on her hips.

"Is there something on your mind Aria?" Aveil asked, lightly touching her shoulders.

"No, I just.. Isn't this a bit much? Everything is going by so quickly, and I… it's not that I don't really know him, but I just feel like I don't know enough about him. There's so much I don't know, that everyone else does and… and.."

"It's overwhelming." Nabooru knelt down before her. "I understand. We all want to see him happy, and he hasn't been this type of happy in a long time. I, personally, want to see him happy with you. We're pushing because we care.

"Aria, we care about both of you. I know it seems like a lot, but please, just trust us for tonight. You can go back to wearing nothing but training clothes- " "Or no clothes at all" "- or whatever clothes you like, but tonight is special and we want to make it as such for both of you."

"It's just dinner. I'll be seated with the rest of you, and it will be just as how it was before I fell into the river."

"Sort of."

"No, not quite like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you'll be seated at his table."

"In front of everyone."

"Will you two at least be sitting with us?"

"I'm afraid not."

"You're the guest of honor. We will be sitting with everyone else, you and King Ganondorf will for the most part be eating at the head table by yourselves."

"You've done it before, so there's no reason to be nervous"

"And yet, I am." Aria crossed her arms.

"Just think of it as your initiation as a warrior. "

"There's an actual initiation for that?"

Aveil and Nabooru stared between each other before looking at the floor.

"Yes, yes there is. You're almost ready for it as well."

"What does that entail, exactly?"

"A one on one spar with King Ganondorf. Nothing too difficult. You just need to either draw blood, or grab the bells that he has in his hand. Everyone does it."

"Well, everyone tries it. Not all can do either, but he usually goes in blindfolded or with his hands tied behind his back."

"Wonderful." Aria pouted.

"Oh don't worry, you'll do fine. Anyways, tonight is a night to feast and enjoy good company. So let's get you in this dress."

Aria sighed before allowing Nabooru to help her into the dark dress with golden accents.

"How long have you had this thing?"

"Not too long."

"... you didn't have this custom made, did you?"

"Sort of. It had to be tailored to your size, but we've had the fabric and the design for a while now. "

"Which you just have lying around."

"Hush, and just appreciate the beauty of the outfit." 

"You spoil me."

"Too true, but that's just the way of things." Aveil patted her on the shoulder, putting away her kit and stood back to admire the work she did on Aria's face.

"Mmmm, good job on the color scheme."

"I know, it really brings out her , time for food. A pity we couldn't get a sparring session in between this and the meeting. I could've used a little release from all the stress."

"Oh dear, don't worry there will be plenty of release and relaxation later." Nabooru winked, before they led Aria to the dining hall. They were joined in the hallways by several clusters of ladies. Faruin nudged her as they got close.

"So, how's it feel to be an official gerudo, now?"

"Very.. dressy."

Faruin chuckled, patting her on the back.

"Hey, you better not mess up her make up!"

"Oh hush. It's not like I'm taking her to bed in front of everyone. Her makeup is fine, Aveil, stop nitpicking."

"I'll nitpick you!"

"Later, I promise a very thorough sparring session."

"Promises, promises."

"I always keep my word." Faruin stuck her tongue out at the older gerudo, before they lead Aria to the front of the dining hall. Ganondorf was nowhere in sight. People were already sitting down and picking at the fruit on the tables. Aria stood by quietly for a while, just listening to the conversations going on around her. It seemed like everyone had already moved on from the trial and were just going about their daily lives once more.

Nabooru escorted Aria to the head table, leaning against the wall as they went over ideas for training. Aria wasn't sure the normal way Nabooru worked with the warriors would be something she excelled at, but Nabooru disagreed.

"Every person is an individual, so I'm not training you exactly as I would someone who's been here all their life, but I am making it so you are familiar with the methods. It will build an understanding of how everyone else was trained, you've already experienced the individual styles of many others- I'm sure you've seen a connection between the fighting styles."

"I have. I'm sure you remember I did win the competition."

"Sort of."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Aria crossed her arms, glaring up at the taller woman.

"Has anyone ever told you that you looks extremely attractive when you're anger."

"Don't change the subject." Aria scowled, ignoring the flush of heat radiating from her cheeks. 

"Ah well, you see I wasn't the final battle. Ganondorf is supposed to be."

"He was gone."

"Correct, however he has returned, so the ending of the competition is still open."

"You mean…"

"You have to face Ganondorf in one on one combat. Don't worry, maybe we can combine it with your warrior initiation and make it just a courtesy."

"Warrior initiation? What warrior initiation?"

"Nabooru. That will be all." Ganondorf's voice echoed in the hallway. Aria jolted, spinning around to come see the stern face of Ganondorf. How had he gotten behind her so quietly? The rest of the hall went silent, and those that were already seated, stood.

"Of course, my king." Nabooru bowed, before striding to her seat, down with Faruin and Aveil.

Ganondorf bowed before her, offering his hand. Hesitantly, Aria took it, warm hand engulfing her own. He pressed a light kiss the back of her hand before turning towards the gerudo.

"Feast, be merry! May the winds be soft and the moon bright tonight, for those of our own have returned, bringing new members into our midsts." A cheer rose from the tables, before Ganondorf sat down on the large cushion that was his seat. Everyone else followed suit, Aria lowering herself onto her smaller cushion. Moments later she was almost falling off of it as a large hand tugged her cushion closer to his.

"Nabooru wasn't supposed to tell you about the warrior initiation. I understand you are a warrior in your own right, though I haven't been given all the details, however the initiation is a tradition that every gerudo has gone through and the Sand Goddess would not look kindly upon us ignoring such a tradition."

"I understand, I'm just rather glad I found out about it before the actual initiation."

"Mmm.. I was also informed you were the leader in the competition."

"I.. believed I was the winner."

"Not until you defeat me. However, that cannot be combined with your initiation as they are two very different events."

"Oh." Aria looked down at the food, picking lightly at the fruit. Her stomach fluttered about and blood raced as she tried to not think about it too much. She didn't really want to fight him again, knowing she had little chance against the beast of a man.

"You've hardly eaten." Ganondorf spoke after a while, having already refilled his plate for a second portion.

"Oh, I'm just… thinking."

"You are worrying, here." A large goblet of oddly blue liquid was passed to her. "Drink it, it will calm your nerves."

"Only calm my nerves?" Aria's eyebrow rose in disbelief." 

"It will calm your nerves. If you are worried, I won't let you make a fool of yourself. And I assure you, I shall not take advantage of your relaxed inhibitions."

Reluctant, Aria took a swig of the drink. It was sour at first, but the aftertaste left a burning sweetness that had Aria taking another swig before handing the goblet back to Ganondorf. He chuckled, laying a warm hand on her back. Aria waited a bit before digging into the food on her plate, sipping from her own drink.


	20. Chapter 20

The world around her was spinning. She couldn't quite remember where she was, or what she was doing. She was surrounded by glowing pink lights, the sand beneath her feet warm and oddly comforting. Aria rubbed her eyes, trying to remove the odd blurring. Before her was a small oasis, blue fairies dancing around the surface of the water.

A large hand settled on her waist and guided her towards the water. Another equally large hand began to gently disrobe the dark dress she hardly realized she was wearing, from her body. The dress fell to the ground, only to be picked up and hung on a low bending palm tree. Those warm hands guided her towards the luminescent waters. She continued to walk into the waters, even as the hands left her and she heard the rustling of clothes being removed.

Once she was waist deep, she turned to look at her partner. Golden eyes that flashed bright in the darkness gazed down at her fondly. Those warm hands cupped her face and her eyes fluttered close as lips pressed softly against her own. Invigorated, she deepened the kiss, her own hands coming up to delve into the gerudo's fiery hair, brushing past firm jawline covered by a well kept beard. A deep groan echoed in her ears, before darkness took her too soon.

Light filtered in through the window, disturbing Aria's fitful sleep. She groaned and rolled over, covering her head with a pillow. Her head swam, her mouth was dry, and her whole body felt like she'd been trampled by a flock of angry cuccos. She couldn't quite remember what she had done to feel this way, but she was sure she regretted it. Aria rolled to face the darker side of the room, carefully peeking out from beneath the pillow. Bright eyes met with her own, amusement shimmering in their golden depths.

"You know, it's going to get worse before it gets better." Ganondorf spoke in a soft whisper. His hand came up to rest on her hip.

"What happened? Did we?"

"No, I promised I wouldn't take advantage of you, and I assure you, I always keep my promise." The last part sounded more like a growl that a whisper. His large hand tugged her closer, out from underneath the pillow. She would've yelped, if it hadn't been for the mouth covering her own.

Aria slowly pulled away. "How far did we get last night, exactly?"

"Would you like me to tell you, or to show you?"

"Well, I-" There was a soft knock on the door. Ganondorf huffed, before rolling out of bed to address whoever it was at the door. Shock filled her when she realized Ganondorf was actually wearing pants, something she hadn't expected upon waking up in his quarters. He hardly cracked the door open, staring down at whoever was on the other end.

"Yes?"

"Everything is in place, everyone is ready, except Miss Aria and yourself are missing."

"Ah yes, tell them we'll be there soon."

"We, sire?"

"Yes, we. Aria and myself."

"You know where she is?"

Ganondorf chuckled, closing the door slowly before turning to gaze at the woman in his bed. Aria stretched, tossing the covers off, only to quickly throw them back on herself, her face going red.

"What exactly did we do last night?"

"I have time to show you."

"B-but…"

"Trust me, lay back and close your eyes." He smirked, Aria following his instructions, body stiff. Soft skin pressed against her cheek, then her neck. A warm hand trailing over her hips. Aria bit her lips, peeking ever so slightly, only for that warm hand trailing down her bare hip to cover her eyes.

"No peeking." His chuckle muffled against her skin, as his lips found the firm skin of her shoulder. Clenching her fists, Aria moved his hand away from her eyes and laid her own arm there. It certainly wasn't to prevent herself from running her hands through his hair or anything else. That would be silly. The breath in her throat hitched when his own ghosted across her left breast. She swallowed roughly, only to feel the heat of disappointment when his lips skipped over her breast and pressed firmly to her sternum. His hands weren't any better, rubbing small circles into her hip, skimming down her upper thighs, but always on the outside- always returning to press into her hips.

Her body jolted forwards when an all too familiar warm and wet heat surrounded her nipple, teeth lightly scraping against the sensitive flesh. Her hand flew into his unkempt mane of red hair, her eyes opening wide. He grinned at her, still swirling his tongue and sucking on the peak in his mouth. Aria blushed, screwing her eyes shut. Ganondorf made to move away, only for her hand to tighten in his hair. She could feel his unbearably smug smile against her skin as he raked his tongue over her nipple once more, soothing that temporary pain with the pleasure of his tongue. He moved to Aria's other side, his hand coming up to replace his mouth. A soft whimper escaped her lips.

Ganondorf groaned against her skin, pressing against her as much as he possibly could in his current position. He tried not to chuckle at her disappointed sigh when he moved away from her nipples, the rosie peaks just begging to be in his mouth once more.

"Patience." he murmured against her skin, before he pressed his hips against the soft muscle of her abdomen.

"G-g-Ganon, how far did we get last nghhh-" His hair slipped through her fingers as his head found itself between her legs. The flat of his tongue ran over her sex, coaxing her to spread her legs even further. His tongue delved into her slit, dipping into the moisture that had reactively pooled from his earlier ministrations. Aria could only gaze down as golden eyes occasionally glanced up to see her reaction. Flushed cheeks and swollen lips were the least of her concerns as she twitched and bucked her hips into his mouth.

"Oh Goddess, please, Ga-"

Loud, hurried knocking interrupted them. At first Ganondorf was fine ignoring it, but the knocking didn't cease.

"I know you're both in there! The whole compound is waiting on you two to get your butts out of bed, don't make me come in there and drag you out!"

Ganondorf cursed, lifting himself up on his arms. "We'll be there in a moment, Nabooru!" He shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face before staring down at the body that still lay bare before him. He gave Aria a wry smile. "I suppose there's no convincing them for another hour."

"Is your headache gone?" He spoke softly, as if just remembering she had a hangover.

"Y-yes.." Aria mumbled, slowly lifting herself up into a sitting position. Ganondorf leaned forward to capture her lips with his own. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he tugged her against him.

"Hurry up in there!"

They broke apart with a curse, pressing their foreheads together.

"I could magic the door shut, so the entire army of them can't open it" he whispered conspiringly. She giggled softly, shaking her head. "No, we have to get up. I need to destroy your over-inflated ego in the ring."

"It's hardly over-inflated."

"Oh, but it is huge."

"There are other pa-" Aria slapped a hand over his mouth blushing. "Be quiet, I need to get dressed without your distractions."

He tugged her hand off her mouth, reluctantly letting her get up. Ganondorf eyed her as she struggled to put on the dress he had so easily removed from her last night.

"Distraction am I? I believe it is you who is the distraction in my own rooms."

"Rooms? You mean there's more than one?"

"Of course, but you'll have time to adventure here later."

"Assuming there will be a later."

"I assure you there will be a later, after all, you seem to be keening for a repeat performance."

"I...Well, I.. " Aria quickly shut her mouth, trying to ignore the heat of her cheeks as she hurried towards the door.

"Finally! I thought you two would be in there for- wait, are you okay?"

"Fine." Aria snapped out, rushing back towards her own room.

"What did you do to upset her?"

"Nothing! I swear!" Ganondorf raised his hands in surrender from the angrily suspicious gerudo commander.

"Hurry up and get dressed so we can get the ceremonial battle over. I need to prepare her for it, and maybe fix your mistake." She glared at him one last time before racing after Aria.

Aria sighed, pressing her back to the cool wall of her temporary room. Nabooru was quick on her heels, and she honestly didn't feel up to dealing with whatever ceremony they would have her do. She was tired, just honestly too tired. She wanted to rest for a month, or at least a few weeks before doing anything else at this point.

"So, what did he do?"

"Huh?" Aria opened her eyes, Nabooru finally catching up to her. "Oh, nothing in particular. I was just... flustered." She mumbled softly closing her eyes again.

"Well, no time to be flustered now. You've got a ceremony to complete."

"This doesn't involve anymore fancy dresses does it?"

"No, not this time. You'll be in your training outfit. A few warm up rounds and then actual fight-"

"Fight? Who am I fighting?"

"It's not really a fight, it's just… think of it as a really intense training session."

"Right." Aria sighed, letting her head fall back against the wall before she convinced herself to get out of the dress and into her training outfit. When she went to put on the weights and heels Nabooru stopped her.

"You won't need those. You'll need to be as agile and stable as you can.

"That bad?"

"Not bad, just important. Now let's go, they've been waiting long enough."

Nabooru led her to the training grounds, which was packed all around with gerudo warriors grinning down at her. It was days like these that reminded Aria just how short she was compared to all the others in the compound.

"Alright, so your first two fights are just warm-ups, don't go all out. No magic in the ceremony." Aria nodded, doing her stretches as one of the other gerudo came into the arena. They gave her a few good minutes to stretch out her muscles, check her leg, and drink a bit of water before they bowed to each other and got into their stances.

The first strike was made by the gerudo, a quick punch that Aria evaded with ease, flipping over her opponent and knocking her legs out from beneath her. Cheers rang out in the air, Aria offered the warrior a hand up, only to be tugged down to her level.

"Don't let your guard down!" Nabooru called from the side. The scuffle on the ground led them both to breaking apart, scurrying far enough away that they both got back to their feet. A few moments passed as the regarded each other, Aria scanning the gerudo for low defenses in any particular area. They'd been trained to look for weakness and how to extort it.

This particular warrior favored her left shoulder. Aria took advantage of that, feinting strong attacks on the gerudo's right waist. She ignored the smirk the warrior wore, because she was only going to wear it for a moment longer. In a last minute decision, she threw one more punch towards the gerudo's waist as her other hand grappled with the gerudo's left side and jerked her arm backwards, twisting enough to have the warrior fall to her knees, yielding.

The next round went much faster, literally. A swift gerudo warrior who tried to run circles around Aria, blowing up dust and sand every which way. Aria knew this trick all too well, Aveil and Faruin having tripped her up several times with this. It was a rather simple trick, and it amazed Aria that the gerudo believed it would mess her up this time. All she had to do was trust the vibrations of the ground, ignoring the vision of her surroundings completely. It didn't take much to have this warrior on the ground.

Warmed up, Nabooru took Aria to another arena. This one was in a pit filled with all sorts of platforms. In the center, on the highest platform, stood King Ganondorf in what Nabooru explained was the male warrior outfit, if any man was worthy of being a gerudo. Golden bracers on both arms, while his left side from chest to hand was covered, his right side was left relatively bare except for the bracers, the golden pauldron was on his right side as well. Most shockingly, his hair was held up in a single high ponytail, his usual spire pushed back to the base of the ponytail.

"Don't be too distracted by his looks." Nabooru nudged Aria into the arena. "All you have to do is grab the bell in his hands."

Ganondorf smirked at her, showing the rather large silver bell in one of his palms, before his fingers closed around it, jingling it a bit so she could hear it's tinkle.

"No magic?"

"No magic for this."

Aria nodded and began jumping up the platforms to meet with Ganondorf. It was easy, too easy to climb and leap up to his height. She landed on the high platform to see his grinning face.

"Now now, my desert flower, you didn't think I would make it that easy for you?"

"Just this once?" She joked, coming in as close as he would let her. He smirked, rushing her, his form engulfing her own. "Maybe next time." A kiss, and then she was falling. She used the momentum to bounce off the side of the center pillar and land on a nearby platform. She had long since drowned out the noise of the cheers and calls from outside the arena.

Aria rushed up the pillars and platforms once more, this time coming upon him from up above. He sidestepped to the left just avoiding her landing and the attacking fists aimed for his form.

"Tch, such violence? Do you expect to knock me out?" He smirked, placing one hand atop her head.

"No, just to distract you." She grumbled kicking at his legs with her own. He leapt over her feet, using her head as a balance.

"Try harder." With that he took off around the arena. She followed closely behind him, occasionally reaching out and tugging on strands of crimson hair to tell him just how close she was to getting him. It was like a game of cat and mouse, where the mouse kept changing roles with the cat. When he was annoyed with her tugging on his hair, he turned to face her, the dust rising in the arena. He slammed her into the ground, jostling a laugh out of her. They tumbled on the ground a bit her hand reaching for his.

"Just give me the sand-blasted bell!" She growled, thrashing against him. It truly wasn't fair with him being so tall, and having all that reach despite her flexibility.

"Now that wouldn't be fair to all the other warriors who had to knock me out the get this bell."

"I call bull on that. I doubt anyone has knocked you out for this bell."

"True, but it'd be a sight to see you doing so." He gripped her waist tightly with one arm as she squirmed against his abdomen.

"You've been cheating this whole time! Don't think i haven't noticed those shadows grabbing at my ankles to weigh me down!"

"It's only cheating if you get caught."

"You got caught!"

"Well, now I wouldn't say I've been caught, just… "

"You've been caught, now hand the bell o-" He flipped their position so he was on top, his hands pinning her down, bell dangling on a red thread between his teeth. She growled profanities at him, squirming under his firm grip. Ganondorf waggled his thick eyebrows at her, grinning at her curses. The bell dangling before her eyes, taunting her. She grit her her teeth, wrapped her legs around his chest and hauled him off of her, changing their positions once more. His hands let go of her own, perhaps in shock, perhaps to catch his balance as they dangled near the edge of the top platform precariously, either way, her hands snatched the bell from his teeth and raised it in the air as the dust and sand settled. The ground beneath them shook as slowly the pillars, ground, and platforms all connected so that they were in a plain training ring once more.

"Congratulations on becoming a gerudo warrior, Aria." He spoke softly, helping her up so that they could go greet the group of warrior cheering her victory. Nabooru, Aveil, and Faruin ran up to her before the crowd and lifted her up into the air, twirling her around. Aria glimpsed a look at Ganondorf's face, noting his odd expression, before she was surrounded by warriors congratulating her and leading her to the main hall for their lunch.

Ganondorf did not appear for lunch.


End file.
